Beth Bringhurst is the type of woman who can accomplish anything she sets her mind to. A lifelong athlete, she’s done it all, from basketball to bodybuilding competitions, and built a successful career in software sales. However, even the strongest and most determined individuals face unexpected challenges. For Beth, that battle was infertility. “
Finding my person made me want to have kids,” she says, now mom to four-year-old twins, Briggs and June. After marrying the love of her life, Drew, at 37, the couple began trying to grow their family, with little success.
“We didn’t have any health issues, and we were never diagnosed with anything. It was just age,” Beth explains.
After three failed attempts at artificial insemination and a slew of tests, Beth and Drew decided to try in vitro fertilization (IVF), a process in which a woman’s eggs are retrieved and fertilized with sperm in a lab and then reinserted, thanks to her former employer covering the cost.
“I was taking shots daily so my body would overproduce eggs, and going into the Ruch Clinic for regular monitoring,” Beth recalls.
Under the supervision of Dr. Laura Bishop in Memphis, Beth gave herself hormone injections to stimulate multiple egg production. When the time came, she drove to Atlanta for the egg retrieval procedure.
The couple opted to use Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), an additional step in which a single sperm is injected directly into an egg. The resulting embryos are monitored for several days to see which ones survive.
“On day five, the doctor called and said, ‘We have five viable embryos, but there’s one more on the cusp. Let’s wait one more day.” On day six, the sixth embryo pulled through. Her name is June.
“I can tell you, it doesn’t surprise me,” Beth says through tears. “She’s spunky, has a little red in her hair, and she’s a fighter.”
Next came the embryo transfer — one of the most grueling parts of the process. “You have to go through a whole other round of medication,” Beth explains, including shots that prepare the body for implantation by thickening the uterine lining.
However, COVID-19 hit, and the world shut down, and so did that round of efforts.
When IVF resumed, Beth tried again, but her body wasn’t responding anymore. “Instead of thickening, my uterine lining was getting thinner,” she says.
Feeling defeated after a third failed attempt, Beth consulted a local infertility support group. One woman suggested trying a natural transfer — a cycle without medications, using her body’s own ovulation.
This was Beth’s final shot before considering something else.
“I went into the Ruch Clinic for my ultrasound, and they said I was only at a four. It wasn’t looking good. I called my husband and said we may need to start looking into a surrogate.”
Two days later, she drove to Atlanta alone for a follow-up ultrasound.
“The nurse looked at me and said I was at an eight. ‘Let’s go.’ I called my husband. He dropped to his knees, and we both just cried together on the phone.”
Over the next two days, the frozen embryos were thawed. Beth was able to watch the embryo transfer in real time. “It’s like a little light that shoots across the screen.”
The pregnancy went smoothly. Though considered high-risk due to her age, Beth stayed active throughout. “I avoided lifting heavy weights, but I rode the Peloton daily and used light dumbbells.”
Beth has been lifting heavy with Antoine at AD Scott Fitness for ten years and doing HIIT workouts at Burn Bootcamp in Collierville for the past two, and credits Antoine for helping her bounce back postpartum.
“What’s been most rewarding is being able to balance motherhood with a career. I love working, and I’m so grateful to my company, Paylocity, for its flexibility. I’m a mom first.”
Though she never imagined herself as a mother growing up, Beth now says she can’t picture life any other way.
“Drew was 100% put on this earth to be a dad. This journey was emotional for both of us, and he’s so involved in the kids’ lives.”
Beth’s advice to other women considering IVF or starting a family: “Go for it. Just do it. As a Christian woman, I believe God’s intentions are always the plan, but we can also do our part.”
By Shlomit Ovadia
Photo by Tindall Stephens
