Heartbreaking Details About Tulsi Gabbard's IVF Journey

Most readers will know Tulsi Gabbard from her time in congress or her political advocacy in her post-representative career. But behind the run for president and a very public party switch is a woman who wanted to be a mother. Gabbard and her husband suffered through fertility issues, ultimately leading them to turn to in-vitro fertilization (IVF) in the hopes of having a child. The IVF process is a long and difficult one that many families struggle with.

Gabbard opened up about her IVF journey in an interview with Meghan McCain on her podcast, Citizen McCain. "IVF is a very difficult experience no matter what happens. You go through all of this and then you schedule the first transfer. And then you have the waiting until you can take that first pregnancy test, and feeling hopeful and, like, 'Oh, I got this gut feeling, like, I can't wait to be a mom' and all of it." Gabbard then began crying, highlighting the mental health toll that the IVF process can have.

Tulsi Gabbard underwent several in-vitro fertilization procedures beginning with hormone shots and eventual embryo transfers. As the treatments went on, she continued to receive negative pregnancy tests. Unfortunately, the procedures continued to fail, and Gabbard said her doctor told her that she is "one of the women whose official diagnosis is unexplained infertility." Each negative test was a tough blow for her, crushing her hope each time.

She eventually paused treatments to run for president in 2020 and couldn't restart them because of a deployment to East Africa and the COVID-19 pandemic. She was able to restart in 2021, but decided that she and her husband would only try so many more treatments before ultimately stopping.

Gabbard went on to discuss the way her IVF journey impacted her life. While the procedures did not work out for her, she and her husband have accepted that it isn't happening for them and will now be focusing on helping other children and families. In the same podcast, Gabbard said "While that is not in the cards for me and for us, I'm in this unique position where I can actually do something to help other women and children and families, and that is incredibly fulfilling." It has since become one of her key talking points and biggest advocacies.