The Young And The Restless Star Melissa Claire Egan Has Big Baby News

These days, it's become much more acceptable for women to discuss their fertility issues. According to the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, approximately 9% of men and 11% of women of reproductive age have experienced infertility issues. Given that this is a fairly wide swath of the population, it makes sense that people are finally being more open about their struggles, hoping it'll help others find solace in their shared experience.

"The Young and the Restless" star Melissa Claire Egan is among those women who have reckoned with infertility. Three months ago, Egan joined fellow soap star Maurice Benard on his podcast "State of Mind," in which she discussed how infertility has affected her. "I always joke that I can't relate to mental health issues, but I can relate to fertility issues until the cows come home," Egan revealed before adding, "I have been very vocal about it. I have had two miscarriages. It took five years for me to have my son. I have this thing called PCOS [polycystic ovarian syndrome]. I have this thing called silent endometriosis. I pretty much had everything wrong."

Although Egan was eventually able to get pregnant with her son, Caden, she had to undergo in vitro fertilization (IVF) to get there.

Melissa Claire Egan now expecting her second child

Egan has been nothing but an inspiration for others struggling with infertility, proving that if she can get pregnant after so many ups and downs, maybe others can too. It took four rounds of IVF for Egan to conceive her first son Caden with husband Matt Katrosar, to whom she's been married for over eight years. Now, the actress took to Instagram to reveal that she's pregnant once again. She shared, "Looks like we're just destined to have August babies! So grateful and excited to be adding another cub to our family of Leo baby boys," alongside a picture of her sporting a baby bump next to her son. "Caden's gonna be a big brother!"

Egan then expanded on this post via her Instagram story, saying, "I just wanted to ... thank you all so much for the love and the support about baby number two. It truly means so much. Most of you, a lot of you, on Instagram are complete strangers, and the fact that you are so loving and so supportive truly brings tears to my eyes. So thank you, we're so excited. And I know a lot of you know what we've been through to get here, so we just appreciate it ... Thank you, thank you, for all the love today."

A big congratulations to Egan, her whole family, and everyone out there who has followed their story.