According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 190 million women of reproductive age worldwide are affected by endometriosis. Three-time Olympic champion Kaillie Humphries is one of them.

What started as a routine hip MRI ended with a Stage 4 endometriosis diagnosis. It was around that time Humphries and her husband, Travis Armbruster, had been trying for a child without success. Humphries' diagnosis meant the couple would have to go through IVF to have a child of their own. While the couple decided to go all-in on the IVF process, the decision was not as easy as simply deciding to endure the process or not. IVF takes enormous physical and mental tolls on couples, costing $12,000 on average in the United States. Not only did Humphries and Armbruster have to contend with the treatment costs, but Humphries also had to decide whether or not to continue with her sport.

"The choice became do I go back to sport because I only get one year away from sport?" Humphries said. "That's the year you're going to be pregnant without losing world ranking, without losing insurance, without losing my monthly stipend, without losing my position within sport and having to start again from ground zero." 

In Episode 2 of the My New Favorite Olympian and My New Favorite Paralympian podcast, titled "Kaillie Humphries: Bobsled champion navigates motherhood journey," Humphries and Armbruster join hosts Chase Cain and Adam Rippon to discuss the trials and tribulations of their IVF journey as Humphries continued to train as an elite athlete, one of which included getting permission from USADA to take her IVF medications. The journey was not without its challenges, but for Humphries, it was worth it since it resulted in her son, Aulden.

"Sport and IVF process, they mimic each other," Humphries said. "The tools you need to get through one are the exact tools you need to become and get through an Olympics and be the best in the other. So, they definitely go hand in hand with that. You're chasing a dream that you don't know will ever come true. And it's this feeling of control and lack of control at the same time. There's things you can do, but you have no control over the outcome and what will happen because it's doctors, it's nurses. For me in sport, it's other competitors. It's the track, it's weather. So, you're putting all your hope and your entire goal and dream in yourself, in someone else's hands."

Hear all of that and more in this week's episode of My New Favorite Olympian.

Episodes of My New Favorite Olympian and My New Favorite Paralympian release weekly in the lead-up to Milan-Cortina.

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