Romée Strijd speaks candidly about how difficult it was to become pregnant

After beautiful baby news from Kim Feenstra this week, Dutch top model Romée Strijd (24) also announces that she is pregnant. Something that did not come easily, she shares in an open-hearted message on Instagram.

Romée expects her first child together with Laurens van Leeuwen. For seven years, her menstruation was absent and two years ago she was diagnosed with PCOS, a condition where ovulation does not occur, making pregnancy difficult. While her greatest wish was to become a mother and start a family with Laurens. It turned out that the cause for Romée lay in a stressed body, as she was always in a fight-or-flight mode due to her work and many travels.

Due to this insight, Romée downshifted. Together with Laurens, she bought a house in the Netherlands, giving them a home base. She tried to be kinder to herself, adjusted her sports regime, and delved into natural supplements and acupuncture. It worked, because in November Romée got her period back and now she is expecting.

Romée concludes her message with a message for women who are still struggling to conceive: “Believe in yourself and be nice for yourself and your body and don’t let those thoughts get to you too much.” It is not known exactly when Romée is due, but in her message, she uses the word ‘soon’.

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WE’RE HAVING A BABY ? 2 years ago I got diagnosed with PCOS after not getting my period for 7 years. I was devastated because being a mom and starting a family with @laurensvleeuwen is my biggest dream.. I was so scared that I would never be able to because I got told it was harder to get babies in a natural way.. I started to research PCOS and came to the conclusion that mine was not the typical pcos.. Mine was because of my body being in fight or flight mode.. which means my body was under constant stress. I never felt mentally super stressed so it was hard to understand this, but my life consisted of travelling all the time (no biorhythm), working out every day, eating super clean (restricting foods). I think I pressured my body too much, and honestly every body is so different but I think my weight was not good for my body to function properly and couldn’t handle the constant traveling. This was the point where I started to research natural healing for PCOS and came to the conclusion that I should do way less high intensity training, don’t restrict foods, be nice to myself, and take breaks when needed. I also tried some natural supplements, acupuncture and we got a place back in the Netherlands as well, so we could spend more time with Family (since I'm such a family person). I’m so happy and grateful to say that I got my period back last November AND that WE’RE SOON A FAMILY OF THREE ❤ ❤❤❤ & to the women trying to conceive, believe in yourself and be nice for yourself and your body and don’t let those thoughts get to you too much ?

A post shared by Romee Strijd (@romeestrijd) on May 28, 2020 at 10:14 (PDT)