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‘I was 24 years old when I started’: Divine Lee recalls IVF journey

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style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:224px"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:144px"> </div></div><p style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:17px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:8px;overflow:hidden;padding:8px 0 7px;text-align:center;text-overflow:ellipsis;white-space:nowrap"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BxWQpGTgJw6/" style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none" target="_blank">A post shared by Divine Lee Go (@divinemlee)</a> on <time dateTime="2019-05-12T03:43:16+00:00" style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:17px">May 11, 2019 at 8:43pm PDT</time></p></div></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://www.instagram.com/embed.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>MANILA – Did you know that Divine Lee’s journey to motherhood started at the age of 24, when she had her eggs frozen?</p><p>The socialite made the revelation in an <a href="https://www.smartparenting.com.ph/pregnancy/labor-and-childbirth/divine-lee-birthing-story-a00061-20190510-lfrm?ref=home_featured_big">interview with Smart Parenting</a>, saying she decided to freeze her eggs despite her single status to take away the pressure of having a child at an early age.</p><p>“I was 24 years old when I started [storing my eggs]. Sayang lang daw sa pera. Wala daw ba akong balak mag-asawa? Ganun pa dati eh,” she said, noting that she got the idea of freezing her eggs from her married friends. </p><p>Twelve years later, Lee felt that she has accomplished most of her personal goals so she decided to create embryos from her stored eggs with her husband, businessman Blake Go.</p><p>“I was married already [in civil rites]. Iyon lang naman ang hinihingi eh. I was already able to make embryos with Blake kasi we were married na noong time na ‘yun,” she explained.</p><div><strong>NOT AS SIMPLE AS IT SOUNDS</strong></div><p>“I was able to take my time choosing my husband, I was able to study. I would recommend it to all women,” Lee said of IVF, but the socialite admitted that the procedure was not as simple as it sounds.</p><p>For one, it involved a lot of “emotional investment.”</p><p>“In a normal pregnancy, you make love with your husband, and then you wait kung mabubuntis ka. [Kami] we see each and every step na may nawawala,” she shared.</p><p>Lee went on: “From the harvest, I got 26 eggs. But then, four of those were not good enough. We had 12 embryos, but two of them didn’t fertilize. Then, out of the 10 [embryos] that were sent for testing in Thailand, only eight came back – four boys, four girls. Part of the chromosomal test was finding out the gender. So may nawala na namang dalawa.”</p><p>According to Lee, the remaining embryos were cultured for five days then transferred to her. </p><p>From there, she waited for the pregnancy to progress. Nine months later, baby Baz was born. </p><p>Her second child, also conceived using IVF, is already on its way.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/04/26/19/divine-lees-baby-number-2-will-be-a-girl">Divine Lee’s baby number 2 will be a girl</a></li></ul><p>When asked about the most important lessons she has learned so far as a mother, Lee replied: “With social media, ang dami talagang mangangaral. Actually, not just on social media – even the people around you. But you should know what’s best for your child.”</p><p>“Maraming beses akong nasita because si Baz &#x27;di ko nga nilalapag hanggang three months, bitbit ko lang siya. ‘Ay, huwag mong sanayin sa buhat,’ sabi nila. You hear so many things but for me, that works, that was our bond.”</p><p>The socialite also told her fellow moms to stop aiming for perfection: “Kung nakikita niyo lang kami every day, hindi po ganito itsura ko. Naka-basketball jersey nga lang ako. But you know, I can say na I’m having the best time being a mom because I’m more focused – pareho kaming masaya ni Baz.”<br/> </p>

<p>“I was able to take my time choosing my husband, I was able to study. I would recommend it to all women.” </p>

“I was able to take my time choosing my husband, I was able to study. I would recommend it to all women.”