Naomi Watts "spent so much money" trying to get pregnant

In an extract from her book 'Dare I Say It: Everything I Wish I'd Known About Menopause' shared by People magazine, the 'Gypsy' star wrote: "Because of my hormone levels, I wasn't a candidate for IVF, but I tried fertility drugs like Clomid and procedures like intrauterine insemination (IUI).

"I would have eaten my dog's toenails if someone told me it would help.

"I tracked my ovulation and checked my temperature on the regular. I even got scans to see the follicles and the eggs forming, and we'd have sex at the exact optimal moment for conception. None of it worked."

The 'Infinite Storm' star admitted her "obsession" with getting pregnant caused a strain on her relationship with the 'Perfect Couple' actor but she refused to give up.

She added: "I was peeing on sticks constantly, both to track my ovulation and to check for pregnancy if my period was even an hour late. I was monitoring the pH of my vagina because I'd heard that sperm do better in an alkaline environment than an acidic one.

"I spent so much money, but I would have mortgaged my house to try to solve this problem."

Naomi eventually conceived while shooting 'Eastern Promises' but felt it was "too early" to tell anyone she was pregnant after previously miscarrying, so she continued to perform her own stunts.

She wrote: "I also didn't want to tell anyone yet, because it was so early, and because I didn't want to be difficult, so I just kept going. It was yet another example of how as women we often do things that put us at risk in order to be team players."

But a few weeks later, while filming a scene with co-star Sinead Cusack, Naomi - who split from Liev in 2016 and is now married to Billy Crudup - felt the baby moving inside her for the first time.

She wrote: "It was a sensation I'd never had in my life, but I knew instantly what it meant: the baby was moving around.

"The baby was real. The baby was fighting and strong. My eyes welled with tears."