Going through multiple rounds of IVF (in vitro fertilization) takes a heavy toll on a woman's mental and physical health — just ask Erin Andrews.
The sportscaster has always been candid about the effects of her ongoing fertility journey. In order to break the stigma, she's opening up about a side effect that's a lot more common than people realized: hair thinning and loss.
The Fox Sports sideline reporter has undergone seven rounds of IVF so far. According to Mayo Clinic, this is when eggs are collected from a woman's ovaries and fertilized by sperm in a lab.
Erin has always been candid about the "time-consuming" and "emotionally draining" the process has been, especially her seventh time around.
In a personal essay posted to Bulletin in 2021, she wrote that she's been going through the treatments since she was 35 years old.
"You feel like [expletive]. You feel bloated and hormonal for a week and a half," she continued. She went on to say that you can go through the experience and get nothing out of it.
"That's the crazy part. It's a ton of money, it's a ton of time, it's a ton of mental and physical anguish. And more times than not, they're not successful."
She decided to go public with her difficult journey as a way to break the stigma surrounding infertility.
She stressed that women aren't alone in feeling like failures for not being able to conceive. But instead of being ashamed, she believes that these women need to give themselves "more love."
This time, she addressed a side effect that's more common than many people realize: hair thinning and hair loss.
In an interview with Shape, she revealed that she made the connection between her hair issues and IVF after listening to an episode of Heather McMahan's podcast Absolutely Not.
Erin believes that the number of hormones that are taken during the process is the root of the issue. "[That's] not the best when you are trying to have healthy hair," she explains. "It does a lot of things to your body," she said.
Jennifer Kulp-Makarov, M.D., F.A.C.O.G., a board-certified ob-gyn, reproductive endocrinologist, and infertility specialist with New Hope Fertility, told Shape that women are only on hormone medication for a week and a half. She states that that's not enough time for hair loss.
