Bryce Dallas Howard Reveals Struggles To Conceive, Help From Maori Healer

When she struggled to conceive, Bryce Dallas Howard turned toward an unconventional way to help her get pregnant.

The actress recently sat down for an interview with Entertainment Tonight where she opened up about the hurdles that she and husband Seth Gabel faced when they began trying to start a family. When she had a hard time trying to conceive, she learned that she would need a minor surgery in order to be able to have children. But it was then that her friend urged her to take her appointment with a New Zealand man named Papa Joe, who was a Maori elder and a well-respected healer, to help her with her fertility struggles.

The popular leader is highly touted, traveling throughout the United States and Europe to help people by using healing methods. He even released a book in 2006 about his methods and healing power. When Bryce first saw Papa Joe, she admitted that she was doubtful but when she walked into his practice she immediately felt a “power” come over her.

“Instantly, without me saying anything, he saw what was going on and explained the situation. He did very physical, rigorous body work, and there was a midwife there who helped me breathe through the experience.”

Just seven days after her wedding, Howard learned that she was pregnant and totally credits Papa Joe’s healing power for helping her to conceive. Sadly, at her first appointment with a midwife, she learned that the man who she owed so much to had passed away six months earlier, but she’s still incredibly thankful that she got to meet him before he passed.

“I was so grateful that I got to be a part of that last group of people who were treated by him. I’ve always felt a great amount of indebtedness and thankfulness.”

According to People, Bryce and her husband, Seth, are proud parents to son Theodore and daughter Beatrice. And like her famous father Ron Howard, Bryce and her husband are following in his footsteps by raising their children out of the spotlight and public eye. Though she and her siblings would often visit her father on set of his films, they would stay away from red carpets and things of that nature.

“We weren’t exposed to the side of the industry that’s perceived as being more glamorous, where actors are coddled and where there’s a certain level of celebrity. We were completely sheltered from that. I think that that was a good call,” Dallas says.

Bryce can currently be seen in Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom.