Tia Mowry Opened Up About Her Journey to Becoming Pregnant with Endometriosis

Tia Mowry has been open about her experiences with endometriosis for years, but in a new Instagram post, she shared new details about how her health battle impacted her pregnancy journey in particular.

Mowry posted a series of photos she's posed in alongside her two children, her nine-year-old son Cree and her three-year-old daughter Cairo. In her caption, she opened up about what it felt like to learn not only that there was a name for the myriad symptoms she'd been experiencing for years, but that it might impact her ability to conceive and carry a healthy pregnancy.

"I'm so thankful everyday that Cree and Cairo came into our lives," she wrote in her Instagram caption. "Having endometriosis meant pregnancy wasn't easy for me. I wasn't even sure I would get there — I was so scared when I first heard my diagnosis, thinking I might not be able to have kids."

Endometriosis — a common reproductive condition in which tissue that's similar to that of the uterine lining grows elsewhere, such as on the ovaries, fallopian tubes, bowels or bladder — can cause inflammation that makes it difficult to conceive. As many as 30 to 50 percent of people with endometriosis experience infertility, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

"I know that I'm not the only one who has been on that same journey," continued Mowry in her caption. "But I learned that having endo doesn't necessarily mean that a person's dream of having a child won't come true." Mowry also shared that she credits her two successful pregnancies to some lifestyle changes, writing, "after making dietary changes, focusing on my health, and a lot of prayer came my beautiful children." (Other celebs who have been open about how endometriosis has impacted their fertility include Amy Schumer and Halsey.)

The Sister Sister alum previously detailed some of the lifestyle adjustments that she found helpful in managing her symptoms, including limiting dairy, added sugar, and alcohol and incorporating more vegetables, proteins, whole grains, probiotics, legumes, and lower-sugar fruits into her diet. She also finds practicing yoga and meditation helpful after having multiple surgeries in her 20s to remove scar tissue caused by endo.

Though it sounds like she's able to manage the chronic condition, Mowry's road to becoming a mom was anything but easy, as she told TODAY Parents in 2021. Not only did she struggle to conceive, but she experienced "excruciating pain" during her first pregnancy, with her doctors fearing she'd been having an ectopic pregnancy due to the presence of scar tissue, which happens when a fertilized egg implants and grows outside the main cavity of the uterus, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Mowry timed her post with Endometriosis Awareness Month, which aims to shed light on the under-researched condition, which some people suffer with for years before receiving a diagnosis. Mowry ended her caption with a note of encouragement: "So for others out there with endometriosis, I see you — and send you love, strength, encouragement and healing."