Naomi Watts Recalls Feeling Baby Move for the First Time Mid-Filming After Fertility Issues

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Naomi Watts began feeling perimenopause symptoms while trying to conceive at 36, making her first pregnancy an emotional experience.

Appearing on the cover of InStyle's special World Menopause Day issue, the actress recalled the difficulties she experienced trying to conceive with her former partner, Liev Schreiber.

"I knew that there are changes to the body around the age of 35, but I didn't know that it was a really late time to start thinking about getting pregnant," Watts told the outlet, noting doctors had floated the use of a donor egg to her in light of her test results.

Added Watts, "For whatever reason, there's still a societal stigma around not conceiving naturally. So that kicked off a whole world of secrecy and shame, and I started looking into other possible alternative routes I could take."

"My doctor said, 'You could be close to menopause.' I panicked," she admitted. "I went into a scary place and kind of spiraled."

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Perimenopause is the often years-long transition prior to menopause when hormones fluctuate and women experience a range of symptoms including hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, insomnia and irregular periods. Menopause is defined as twelve months without menstruation.

Watts said she wasn't a candidate for in-vitro fertilization and tried different methods to boost her fertility, including wheatgrass shots and Chinese herbs.

In a video accompanying the interview, Watts became emotional as she recalled the first time she felt her son Sasha, now 15, kick inside her stomach while filming her 2007 film Eastern Promises. In the midst of a scene with co-star Sinead Cusack, she was visibly shocked by the feeling.

"I said, 'I think I just felt my baby move.' I'll get choked up," she shared. "It was an astounding moment. I'll never forget that moment."

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Of having younger child Kai, now 13, she said, "I knew I always wanted to have more than one child. I had a childhood that was a lot of moving around, we lost our dad very young, and I knew that having a sibling was so wonderful."

When it comes to parenting teens, Watts noted how their hormones rise at the time when moms experience theirs crashing.

"That is a big fat collision that has been not always the easiest," she said of her own experiences.

At The New Pause Symposium in New York City last week, presented by The Swell and Stripes, Watts said that her personal experiences inspired her to create Stripes, a skincare brand for women in midlife.

Naomi Watts/instagram

Along with developing the skincare line, Watts and Stripes created a community called The Hot Spot that includes guidance on symptoms and a forum for people who are dealing with perimenopause and menopause.

"Perimenopause is a transitional time, and it's up and down and up and down, and if you don't have an outlet or a place to bitch and moan and cry and laugh and experience all of those feelings with others, it's going to be a horrible time," Watts said.

"I do authentically feel my best version of myself. I no longer a victim to my hormones, and I feel that my decision-making is much better because my hormones have settled, my confidence has come back."