Julianne Hough Is Going Through IVF Treatments With 'No Shame Or Guilt'

Julianne Hough and her husband are opening up about their fertility journey

Triple threat Julianne Hough and her husband, NHL player Brooks Laich, will undergo IVF treatments in hopes of starting a family. Laich says he and the “Dancing With the Stars” and “America’s Got Talent” judge are ready to have a child, and they’re currently going through fertility treatments to make that a reality.

“My wife and I want to have children in our future, and going through IVF was a decision we made to increase the (odds) of that happening,” Laich tells Us Weekly. “I wish people would perceive it that way instead of with shame or guilt.”

Laich initially opened up about he and Hough’s parenting journey on his podcast, “How Men Think.” He says that he and Hough decided talking about fertility struggles can help combat the stereotype that those things should be kept “hush-hush.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/Byli47rn2hq/

“Julianne has the best heart in the world — that’s her,” Laich continues. “I view her as such a better person than I am because of the amount of love she has for every living thing in the world.”

Hough was officially diagnosed with endometriosis back in 2008. Earlier this year, she opened up to Health about the struggles she’s endured because of the disease. “I started having symptoms when I was 15, but didn’t really realize that it was anything more than just being a woman,” she said, adding that her sharp pelvic pains became debilitating. “I’d have to stop for almost 30 seconds and just like, curl down for a minute.”

Endometriosis means the endometrial tissue migrates outside of the uterus. Symptoms vary from person to person, but usually include abnormally painful periods, excessive bleeding, and severe pelvic pain. It can be difficult to diagnose, as many of the symptoms mimic those of pelvic inflammatory disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and bad periods/PMS.

Hough says the diagnosis was a relief to her, as she’d been struggling with it for years and years. She was diagnosed during a hospital visit that revealed endometriosis-related scar tissue that had spread to her appendix, which nearly burst. A week later, she underwent laproscopic surgery to remove scar tissue and her appendix.

“It was sort of a relief to know that I actually had a name to the pain and that it wasn’t just part of being a woman, and that I had to tough it out,” she said. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, nearly 40 percent of women who have infertility also have endometriosis. Hough hopes that opening up about her diagnosis helps others who might be going through the same thing.

“Hopefully because of my story and being able to talk about it, people will hear it and be more aware that maybe they might have it.”