Tika Sumpter shared her struggles with IVF and why she walked away from the process.
Tika Sumpter Admits She 'Didn't Have the Energy' to Continue With IVF After Trying for Her Second Child
Tika Sumpter is opening up about her IVF journey.
The Ride Along actress, 44, revealed she began the process of trying to conceive her second child with her husband, Nicholas James, 42, after they welcomed daughter Ella-Loren in 2016.
Tika Sumpter and her husband, Nicholas James, tried to have their second child through IVF.
"I did want a second child and tried IVF once. I know they say you should do it multiple times, but I didn’t have the energy for it," she explained in a recent interview.
Since having to make the difficult decision, Sumpter has more compassion for others trying to expand their families. "While having another baby didn’t work out for me, I pray that it works out for other people," she explained. "The threads of motherhood are so interconnected that we sometimes forget that everybody is just trying to figure it out and live their best lives. I am you and you are me."
Tika Sumpter shares her daughter, Ella-Loren, 7, with her husband, Nicholas James.
Luckily, the Nobody's Fool star's connection with her firstborn, 7, brought her peace in the most stressful times. "When I get a little hyper, she'll put her hand on my heart and say, 'Mom, breathe.' She'll do it in such a soulful way," Sumpter noted.
"She's the only woman who can tell me to relax in a way that is not condescending. I tell her all the time that she's so much better than me," she continued. "The other day, she said, 'You're a really good mom.' Sometimes, I feel like I'm such a failure because I'm always working. But she just started rattling off all the things that I am to her, and my eyes started watering. I thought, I'm doing a good job. It validated all the things that I poured into her."
Tika Sumpter admitted she 'did not have the energy' to continue with her IVF journey.
Although Sumpter deals with mom guilt, she knows she's doing what's best for her child. "My mom went from being a stay-at-home mom to having to get a job as a corrections officer at Rikers Island. It was sink or swim, but she swam," she explained of her childhood.
"She tried her best to keep us kids in line. I thought I would be a tough parent because of my mom but I’m not. I’m down for the fun. If she wants to get on a roller coaster, I’ll go with her! We have this playfulness that allows her to be herself. My ability to [instill] that in her is my superpower," the Sonic the Hedgehog alum said. "Seeing my mom work so hard made me want to be a better daughter."
Tika Sumpter said her daughter always calms her down.
PARENTS conducted the interview with Sumpter.