Brooke Shields has released her new book, “Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old,” in which she recalled her “violent” miscarriage. The actor opened up about the tough moment while detailing the heartbreaking experience. The 59-year-old revealed she had difficulty getting pregnant after she underwent a cone biopsy in her mid-thirties.
PEOPLE reported that Shields wrote about her heartbreaking miscarriage in her new book. The actor recalled she had an “irregular pap smear” in her mid-thirties, which required her to get a cone biopsy. Shields explained it is a “procedure to remove abnormal tissue from the cervix.”
The doctors had to take out a lot of Shields’ cervix as they had found abnormal cells. It imposed risk since they could have developed into cancer. However, she revealed they did not inform her how the procedure, which caused her pain, could trigger complications in conceiving. She wrote, “The doctor also failed to mention that such an aggressive biopsy could result in so much scar tissue that it could become difficult to conceive.”
Brooke Shields on suffering a miscarriage: ‘Worst twelve straight hours of my life’
PEOPLE noted Brook Shields further shared she got herself checked shortly after getting married. It was then the doctor found her cone biopsy had left scar tissue that had shortened and tightened her cervix. Moreover, the severe damage later affected the in vitro fertilization process. Shields recalled the doctors could not pass a catheter through her cervical canal to her uterine cavity to implant an embryo for IVF. They went through her belly button instead.
Shields penned that the first IVF round was successful and resulted in her pregnancy. Unfortunately, she had a miscarriage three months later. The actor wrote, “And what ensued was probably the worst twelve straight hours of my life.” Shields recalled the miscarriage was “so violent and excruciatingly painful.” Following that, she underwent a second a second IVF attempt. However, Shields’ ordeal made her ask the doctor, “Do you think it hurt so much because the scar tissue was getting stretched? Is that possible??”
Meanwhile, it was Shields’ female fertility specialist who informed her that her conceiving complication was likely a result of the cone biopsy. The fertility specialist also told Shields that the first doctor — a male — should have informed the actor about the effects. The mom of two noted, “Had I been aware of the risks, I could have made other choices to support my fertility.”
