Actor Moon Ji-in, who successfully conceived naturally, opened up about her feelings during in vitro fertilization.
On the 25th, the channel "An acquaintance's acquaintance" uploaded a video titled "Couple Q&A | From first meeting stories to sperm tips(?)".
That day Moon Ji-in and Kim Gi-ri took time to answer subscribers' questions directly. During the session, one fan asked, "How did you get through the hard times during IVF?" and Moon Ji-in confessed, "I couldn't get through it. Because I couldn't get through it, I think I actually gave up."
She said, "It felt like it wasn't an area you could overcome but an area you had to endure. I'm more worried than people think, but I had heard so much about IVF itself that I started thinking it would be hard. If the IVF process were a report card, my grades were very bad. There weren't many close misses where it almost worked, and prenatal test results were not good either. But I couldn't understand it. Early on natural conception worked well. So I wondered why the IVF results were so bad. Psychologically it was actually hard, vague and overwhelming. So I couldn't get through it and I ended up giving up."
She added, "For almost a year we did natural conception, intrauterine insemination and IVF, so over 12 months it felt like 12 failures. We failed IVF twice and did intrauterine insemination once, and along the way, as you know, we had a lot of tests. Hysterosalpingography is standard and is something you do when you fail in between. That was really exhausting too," she said, sharing her difficulties.
Kim Gi-ri also said, "Ji-in prepared for one year but the impact was tremendous. Later when we saw other people it really varied case by case. A failure isn't just one blow. There's the depression during the time you get the injections to do IVF. The times after the shots when you feel dizzy, nauseous and unwell," pointing out the hard parts.
Moon Ji-in said, "When I got the injections I had to get six shots in my abdomen. I was getting the last one and felt like I was going to throw up, so I went to the bathroom and vomited right after getting the shot," and Kim Gi-ri explained, "If pregnancy doesn't happen your period comes, and the menstrual cramps are severe. Menstrual pain and depression compound, making it even harder. It keeps accumulating like cumulative damage."
When asked for tips for natural conception, Kim Gi-ri said, "Many people will probably be most curious, but first of all, we of course take care of our health. For men, I followed a few things you shouldn't do for sperm. For example, hot showers. Sperm can get damaged. So I never used hot water when washing that area. And hot water can flow down from above, so I tried to adopt a precise posture so the hot water wouldn't touch it. Also, I felt it's better not to turn on heated seats while driving," he said, sharing an unexpected tip.
Moon Ji-in said, "I thought my menstrual cramps were really severe, and I didn't really think they would affect pregnancy. Then I went to a traditional Korean medicine clinic. I was always skeptical, but Hong Ji-min unnie conceived naturally and had tried IVF for a long time without success, so out of pity she recommended it to us a lot and we went. It's not what you might think. It isn't, but we went. Whether it affected pregnancy or not, my menstrual cramps were cured. I was someone who couldn't endure without painkillers, but for the first time I didn't take menstrual pain medicine. So I thought it suited me well," she said.
She said, "I think finding the right fit is important. Many people don't get results from herbal medicine. For me, if I had menstrual pain because my circulation was poor, it seemed effective. Second, I did about a 2 kg detox before starting again with attempts at natural conception. It wasn't a month-long thing but a roughly three-day detox, and I focused on my constitution. These were things I hadn't done before. Looking back, when I had a previous miscarriage it was also during a natural conception and I had been playing a lot of soccer then, so my circulation was good. It was an attempt that suited me very well to call it a tip. And TMI, both times I got pregnant I was overseas. The time difference was different. I tried at times opposite to Korean time. That's another hypothesis," she added.
Meanwhile, Kim Gi-ri and Moon Ji-in married in 2024. The couple, who suffered the pain of a miscarriage early in their marriage, retried natural conception after IVF failures, and last month announced the news of a successful natural conception and received many congratulations. They are due to give birth in August.
[Photo] An acquaintance's acquaintance
[OSEN]