You’ve probably heard her voice on CNA938 — the calm, clear, journalistic tone of Cheryl Goh. But behind the microphone, behind the headlines, there’s a deeply personal story that’s now taking centre stage. For the first time at theAsianparent, Cheryl is turning the mic on herself, opening up about a five-year fertility battle, marked by multiple surgeries, miscarriage, and marathon rounds of IVF.
Now pregnant and finally ready to share her truth, Cheryl calls herself an “IVF warrior that keeps on keeping on.” And honestly? That headline barely scratches the surface.
So, if you’re a parent, a trying-to-conceive (TTC) warrior, or someone quietly cheering from the sidelines of a friend’s fertility battle, here’s a story of a woman who never gave up on her IVF journey. Cheryl’s story is not just about medical procedures — it’s about perseverance, partnership, pain, and a quiet power that refuses to quit.
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Delaying Parenthood and the First Heartbreak
Source: Cheryl Goh
Cheryl’s journey began like many of ours — with dreams, plans, and the assumption that things would just fall into place. She and her husband waited a few years after getting married to enjoy married life. And when they finally decided to start trying, they didn’t expect the road to parenthood would test every ounce of strength they had.
After trying naturally, Cheryl did conceive — but suffered a miscarriage in 2019. That same period revealed an even deeper complication: 21 fibroids crowding her womb. If the pregnancy had continued, the doctors would’ve left them alone. But after the miscarriage, surgery became necessary.
The supposed “keyhole” procedure turned into a major abdominal operation. Cheryl woke up with a deep scar and even deeper trauma — physical and emotional. It was, as she puts it, the start of a long and gruelling TTC chapter.
“I lost the baby, and so then they decided that we should go ahead and remove those fibroids,” Cheryl recalls. “It was supposed to be a keyhole surgery, but I woke up with a big scar on my belly.”
IVF, Surgeries and a Womb Rebuilt from Hope
After recovering from surgery, Cheryl embarked on the IVF route, going through two retrievals and four embryo transfers. In between, she endured two more surgeries — one to clip a fallopian tube, and another to remove both tubes entirely, to improve IVF chances.
And just when she thought things couldn’t get more complicated, a major post-op complication left her hospitalised — her intestines had “fallen asleep,” leaving her unable to eat and hooked to a drip for a week. These were not setbacks. They were battle scars.
For anyone going through IVF, you know it’s more than just science. It’s heartbreak on a schedule. Cheryl described the infamous “two-week wait” after each embryo transfer — a limbo where you act pregnant, without knowing if you actually are. Four cycles. Eight weeks. Each time ending with disappointment.
And yet, she kept going. Why?
Because she had embryos left — and more importantly, she had a partner who never once flinched in his support.
The Two Things That Kept Her Going
Cheryl is the first to admit there were moments she wanted to give up.
“I wanted to give up so many times,” she admits. “Every failure kind of just eats into you a little bit. It tears a little bit of your heart out.”
But she credits her husband’s steady, unwavering belief in her. Never once did he point fingers. Never once did he make her feel alone in a journey that was happening inside her body.
Source: Cheryl Goh
“He never once blamed me for all the issues that I have because all the fertility issues were with me and my body,” she shares. “His unwavering support, his quiet strength, and his determination kept me going.”
And then there were the frozen embryos — embryos hard-earned through needles, hormones, and pain. Knowing that they were still waiting was both a burden and a beacon. If they were there, she reasoned, she owed it to herself to keep trying.
Because when you’ve fought that hard, the idea of giving up becomes more terrifying than the pain itself.
The Toilet Bowl Moment That Changed Everything
After taking a home pregnancy test the day before the “official” bloodwork, Cheryl had a feeling something was different. And she was right.
The next day, while waiting on the clinic’s call, she went about her day — which included a trip to the toilet. That’s where her husband knocked on the door and handed her the phone. It was the doctor, confirming the news: she was pregnant.
Yes, Cheryl found out she was expecting while still on the loo. And that feels incredibly fitting for someone who’s lived through every messy, human part of this journey.
Sharing the Joy… With Caution
Source: Cheryl Goh
The first people she told? Her parents. They had seen it all — the hospital visits, the physical pain, the mental drain. Cheryl called them right after the news, followed by a quiet WhatsApp to her closest friends. Their response? “Cheryl, I’m actually tearing up.”
Well, who wouldn’t?
Still, Cheryl and her husband kept their joy guarded. The years of disappointment taught them to be cautiously optimistic. To celebrate — but with soft, gentle hope.
Source: Cheryl Goh
Why Movement Still Matters in Motherhood
Now well into her pregnancy, Cheryl wants to bust a myth: being pregnant doesn’t mean you have to stop moving. In fact, she encourages moms-to-be to stay active but still with doctor’s approval, of course. For her, movement isn’t just about fitness — it’s about reclaiming control over a body that has been through so much.
Source: Cheryl Goh
She’s also quick to remind women to never attempt to make too many drastic changes to your lifestyle just because you’re pregnant. You’re still you. You’re just growing someone else inside you, too.
On Miscarriage, Grief, and the Silence Around It
Cheryl speaks about miscarriage with the kind of clarity that only comes from deep, private pain. The loss is, as she puts it, “indescribable.” But what’s even harder is the silence that often surrounds it.
“I think the loss of a miscarriage is indescribable,” she says. “We don’t talk about pregnancy loss and miscarriage a lot. That’s why I wish more women actually knew how common it is.”
So if you’re reading this and you’ve gone through a pregnancy loss, Cheryl wants you to know: give yourself time to heal. You’re not alone. You’re not broken. And you’re allowed to grieve in your own time, in your own way.
“Just give yourself that time to heal,” she advises. “Whenever you’re ready, just let yourself be open to trying again.”
Signing Off On Air and in Life with Heart
In a world where headlines move fast and the news never sleeps, Cheryl Goh has spent years telling other people’s stories with clarity, poise, and purpose. But this time, the story is hers. And she’s choosing to tell it raw, real, and without a script.
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Because even when the mic is off and the studio lights dim, this seasoned journalist knows the power of sharing the truth. And just like she does every day on CNA938, she’s reminding us that the most meaningful stories aren’t always the loudest, they’re the ones spoken from the heart.
And for every parent, hopeful parent, or weary warrior out there tuning in to the frequency of hope, Cheryl’s message is clear.
Keep going because your story isn’t over yet.
