Jordana Brewster is not afraid to talk about the challenges she faced when starting her family. The Fast and the Furious star hopes that opening up about her own infertility struggle will help others feel less alone.
Brewster, 40, has partnered with Clearblue as part of their new #Conceivinghood campaign and spoke to ABC Audio about the importance of sharing her story.
The actress admits at the start of her journey, she felt lesser than other moms because "I felt like they conceived relatively easily and I was like they're more... than I am."
She now knows the narrative she put in her head is false, which is why she wants to end that stigma surrounding infertility.
In addition, she raised the financial issue regarding infertility treatments.
"It's such a huge financial burden for women," the Lethal Weapon alum noted, using her own infertility as an example, explaining, "I was lucky enough that gestational surrogacy was available to me... I'm lucky that I'm able to afford that."
"For some families, it's prohibitive. I think access to even just a fertility doctor can be prohibitive because it's extremely expensive," she continued. "It's a huge commitment and investment, and that's prohibitive to a huge part of our population."
As for how others can help those facing such challenges, Brewster stressed the importance of raising awareness and being supportive, such as by participating in campaigns like National Infertility Awareness Week.
While the topic of infertility has become less "taboo" over the past decade, Brewster says talking openly about infertility will help "make the conversation the norm and not the exception," which can lead to meaningful change.
"I think that's really important because it's part of a woman's journey," she said.
Brewster shares sons Julian, seven, and Rowan, four, with husband Andrew Form.