MANILA – It has been more than two years since Maxene Magalona married Rob Mananquil but the two have yet to build their own family.

On Instagram, Magalona explained the reason why she is not yet ready to get pregnant.

“Although it is common in the Philippines for newlyweds to have babies as soon as they get married, we chose to take our time, focus on our marriage and solidify our foundation before anything else,” she said.

Magalona also said she does not want to get pregnant yet while she is “still carrying so much trauma and pain” inside of her.

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A post shared by Maxene Magalona-Mananquil (@maxenemagalona) on Jul 19, 2020 at 7:10am PDT

“Truth be told, I was really hesitant to get pregnant because of my mental health condition. I was scared that I might just end up passing on my traumas and projecting my negative emotions onto my children,” she said.

Since kids usually copy and inherit the behavior of their parents, Magalona realized “that I needed to do something about my mental health condition and really focus all my energy on healing myself and unlearning my negative traits and habits.”

Magalona said she and her husband have chosen to take a “yogic path” to help themselves heal from their past traumas before they have children.

Magalona believes “yoga and meditation help us heal from all our physical and psychological injuries, gain more awareness and live a more conscious and healthy lifestyle.”