The struggle for many Black couples to have children due to infertility or other medical issues has become a more open topic. Now Michelle Obama has told her story in her upcoming memoir, Becoming, and how she and former President Barack Obama dealt with the issue.
Michelle Obama sat down for an interview with “Good Morning America” host Robin Roberts, which aired in part on GMA on Friday, Nov. 9, 2018, and is set to air in its entirety this weekend.
During the interview, the former first lady told Roberts that she suffered a miscarriage when she and her husband first decided to have children. Michelle and Barack Obama married in 1992, and their eldest daughter Malia was born in 1998. The miscarriage happened before Malia’s birth but she did not give many details on the circumstances. Ultimately, both Malia and the Obamas’ youngest child Sasha were conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF) techniques, Michelle Obama said.
At the time of the miscarriage, she stated, “I felt like I failed because I didn’t know how common miscarriages were because we don’t talk about them. We sit in our own pain, thinking that somehow we’re broken.”
The Obamas’ decision to have marriage counseling was pivotal to their recovery as a couple, she told Roberts.
“Marriage counseling for us was one of those ways where we learned how to talk out our differences. I know too many young couples who struggle and think that somehow there’s something wrong with them. I want them to know that Michelle and Barack Obama, who have a phenomenal marriage and who love each other, we work on our marriage. And we get help with our marriage when we need it.”
The full interview, “Becoming Michelle: A First Lady’s Journey with Robin Roberts,” will air during a prime-time ABC News special on Sunday, Nov. 11, at 9 p.m. ET.
