‘I gave up’: Shark Tank judge Namita Thapar opens up about her two failed IVF attempts

"I have gone through 2 infertility treatments and those 25 injections and the emotional and physical pain that I went through," Namita said on the show

Namita Thapar reveals her IVF struggles (Source: Namita Thapar/Instagram)

Shark Tank India season 2, which has managed to grab headlines for reasons more than one, recently had judge Namita Thapar laying bare her personal struggles in one of the episodes. During a pitch made by budding entrepreneurs Chandan Prasad, Vikram Rajput, and Sohan Sahu about their home kit for IUI (intrauterine insemination), Namita shared her difficult experience of undergoing two failed in-vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures while trying to conceive her second baby.

Namita, who is the executive director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals, said that she became a mother naturally by conceiving at the age of 28. However, she faced fertility issues when she tried having her second baby, 3-4 years later. As such, she decided to undergo IVF treatment twice which caused her immense “emotional and physical pain”.

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A post shared by Namita Thapar (@namitathapar)

“In my case, when I was 28 years old, I wanted to get pregnant and in 2 months I conceived and had a normal pregnancy. After that, for 3 to 4 years, I tried and I couldn’t conceive. I have gone through 2 infertility treatments and those 25 injections and the emotional and physical pain,” Namita said on the show.

Eventually, she gave up and was disappointed that she decided to be happy with just one child. However, after a few months, though she conceived naturally, Namita couldn’t come out of the trauma of her IVF treatments.

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“I already have kids but imagine the parents who don’t have kids. After two attempts I gave up and said that I am happy with one child. But then a miracle happened and I conceived naturally but the memory stayed with me, and for 10 years I couldn’t talk about it publicly. It was very tough for me to share it with anyone,” she added.

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A post shared by Namita Thapar (@namitathapar)

Stressing that infertility continues to remain a “taboo” subject, Namita said, “Just six months ago, I had to discuss the topic of infertility on my YouTube channel and I couldn`t sleep the entire night thinking as to whether I would be able to share my personal experience or not. Many of my well-wishers told me it’s my personal life, why should I discuss it?’ However, the businesswoman decided to share what she has gone through with others and even opened up about the same in her book.

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In an earlier interaction with indianexpress.com, Dr Vaishnavi A Rao, Senior Consultant, Reproductive Medicine, Milann Fertility Hospital, Bengaluru, said, “Advancement in technology cannot guarantee the definite success of pregnancy. Infertile couples, along with the IVF expert, face a lot of challenges in treating repeated IVF failure. As age advances for a woman, the oocyte numbers and quality get hampered. Late marriages due to work or peer pressure and postponement of childbearing are some causes for infertility.”

Dr Rao added that obesity, smoking, and stress can also impair oocyte, sperm and embryo quality, leading to IVF failure. “Endocrinological factors and immunological factors also go hand-in-hand,” she said, explaining that a multidisciplinary team of doctors needs to be involved in managing repeated IVF failure.

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