Santos (right) with daughter Tala and fiance Paolo Pilar —PHOTOS FROM KATYA SANTOS/FACEBOOK
As much as Katya Santos wants to have a second baby, getting pregnant at the age of 42, she admitted, has been a physically and emotionally draining process.
While she and her non-show biz fiancé, Paolo Pilar, can still try for a baby the natural way, Katya said her underlying issues like myoma, endometriosis and low ovarian egg count considerably diminish their chances. And so, the couple decided to seek assisted reproductive technologies, like in vitro fertilization (IVF), in May last year.
This Holy Week, Katya plans to go on a Visita Iglesia in hopes that her most fervent prayer be granted.
“Actually, we were supposed to go camping. But since all the campsites we got in touch with were already fully booked, we just decided to stay [in Manila] and go on a Visita Iglesia. We want to really pray for our IVF. At this point, it’s the only thing that can help strengthen your faith,” Katya told the Inquirer at a press conference for her upcoming movie, “Sunny” under Viva Films.
“Kanino ka pa ba kakapit ngayon? There’s no one else,” added Katya, who has a 10-year-old daughter, Tala, with her ex-husband, Anton delos Reyes.
Katya also hopes to visit churches that are deemed miraculous, like Obando Church in Bulacan, which holds annual fertility rites, and the Padre Pio Shrine in Batangas, which devotees flock to for healing and miracles.
Katya Santos
Believe in miracles
“I just want to believe in miracles. I have already offered eggs to St. Clare (at the Monasterio de Santa Clara in Quezon City). I also want to go to Agoo … to Obando … I have become a devotee of St. Padre Pio. We have heard a lot about devotees who had successful pregnancies,” Katya related.
The actress didn’t have herself checked until recently, she said, because she thought there was nothing wrong with her health. “We have been trying for a long time now. I thought I didn’t have any health problems. But now, I realized that just because you’re not feeling anything bad doesn’t necessarily mean there’s nothing wrong with you,” she said.
“And I thought I wouldn’t have trouble getting pregnant again because I already had a child before,” she added.
God’s will
After five egg retrievals and fertilizations, the couple now has two embryos, one which they hope to be implanted in Katya in July. “But first I must undergo operations for my myoma and endometriosis. After I complete my show biz commitments, I hope I can have an embryo implanted,” she said.
IVF is expensive and invasive. The couple spends around P500,000 “per egg harvest,” which includes medicine that helps improve the quality of my eggs.” The hormonal changes, Katya said, make her emotionally sensitive. And then, there’s the stress and pressure that come with the uncertainty of it all.
Katya and her doctors are doing the best they can for a successful pregnancy. But at the end of the day, she said, it’s God’s will that shall prevail.
“It’s not 100 percent guaranteed. I live a healthy lifestyle. I have stopped going out. I exercise and do some yoga. I go to bed early. I eat well. The doctors do their best, but it’s not something they can control,” she said.
Now, all she can do is wait and keep the faith. “At the end of the day, it’s up to God kung ibibigay Niya … that’s what I’m holding on to. I know ibibigay ni Lord. Tinitibayan ko ang faith ko,” Katya said.