Photo: Dominik Bindl/Getty
Naomi Wattsbegan feelingperimenopause symptomswhile trying to conceive at 36, making her first pregnancy an emotional experience.
Appearing on the cover ofInStyle’s special World Menopause Day issue, the actress recalled the difficulties she experienced trying to conceive with her former partner, Liev Schreiber.
“I knew that there are changes to the body around the age of 35, but I didn’t know that it was a really late time to start thinking about getting pregnant,” Watts told the outlet, noting doctors had floated the use of a donor egg to her in light of her test results.
Added Watts, “For whatever reason, there’s still a societal stigma around not conceiving naturally. So that kicked off a whole world of secrecy and shame, and I started looking into other possible alternative routes I could take.”
“My doctor said, ‘You could be close to menopause.’ I panicked,” she admitted. “I went into a scary place and kind of spiraled.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Angela Pham
Perimenopause is the often years-long transition prior to menopause when hormones fluctuate and women experience a range of symptoms including hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, insomnia and irregular periods. Menopause is defined as twelve months without menstruation.
Watts said she wasn’t a candidate for in-vitro fertilization and tried different methods to boost her fertility, including wheatgrass shots and Chinese herbs.
Hippolyte Petit/Getty Images
Of having younger child Kai, now 13, she said, “I knew I always wanted to have more than one child. I had a childhood that was a lot of moving around, we lost our dad very young, and I knew that having a sibling was so wonderful.”
When it comes to parenting teens, Watts noted how their hormones rise at the time when moms experience theirs crashing.
“That is a big fat collision that has been not always the easiest,” she said of her own experiences.
Naomi Watts/instagram
Along with developing the skincare line, Watts and Stripes created a community calledThe Hot Spotthat includes guidance on symptoms and a forum for people who are dealing with perimenopause and menopause.
“Perimenopause is a transitional time, and it’s up and down and up and down, and if you don’t have an outlet or a place to bitch and moan and cry and laugh and experience all of those feelings with others, it’s going to be a horrible time,” Watts said.
“I do authentically feel my best version of myself. I no longer a victim to my hormones, and I feel that my decision-making is much better because my hormones have settled, my confidence has come back.”
source: people.com
