The Young And The Restless' Melissa Claire Egan Opens Up About Her IVF Journey To Maurice Benard

Having appeared on several TV shows, including "Dawson's Creek," and "One Tree Hill," beloved actor Melissa Claire Egan first entered the soap opera world playing Annie Novak on "All My Children" before becoming a fan favorite on "The Young and the Restless" with her portrayal of the notorious con artist, Chelsea Lawson. As Soap Hub explains, Chelsea scammed money from quite a few people in Genoa City. She even poisoned Rey Rosales (Jordi Vilasuso), which may have caused the heart attack that killed him. Chelsea got pregnant twice from her cons — once with Billy Abbott (then Billy Miller) and later with Adam Newman (then Michael Muhney). 

While Chelsea's pregnancies were fraught with typical daytime drama, Egan's real-life emotional journey to motherhood was much more serious. Dealing with miscarriages and then infertility, her path was arduous. She shared a picture of herself at a fertility clinic on Instagram as part of the #womensupportingwomen trend, writing, "Being a woman isn't easy!! But we're tough and WE GOT THIS. Love all you women warriors!!!" Much to the delight of Egan and her fans, the actor announced her pregnancy on Instagram in April 2021. According to People, she and her husband were "overjoyed" to welcome a baby boy into their family later that year.

Now, Egan is opening up about her difficult journey to motherhood.

After a long road to motherhood, Melissa Claire Egan gave birth to her son Caden in August 2021. She spoke about her experience with fellow soap star Maurice Benard. 

"I have had two miscarriages. It took five years for me to have my son. I have this thing called PCOS [Polycystic Ovary Syndrome]. I have this thing called Silent Endometriosis. I pretty much had everything wrong," she revealed on the "State of Mind" podcast. Egan explained that despite suffering numerous setbacks, her doctor urged her to "hang in there," which she did. "All of the shots, and pills, and blood thinners, and acupuncture, and appointments. It's a very hopeless feeling with fertility. We had several failed IVF transfers," she explained, noting on the fourth transfer she got pregnant with her son, Caden.

"It's incredible. It's a miracle," she continued. "My husband, he's amazing too! He was so helpful to me when I was going through all my stuff." Unlike practicing to improve a skill, she said infertility is "totally out of [her] control whether it works." Egan recently celebrated her son's first birthday, taking to Instagram to praise him as a "gift from God."