She Was Told Pregnancy Would Kill Her, But This Ex-Military Mom Proved Doctors Wrong and Gave Birth to a Miracle Baby After 14 Years

After 14 years of heartbreak, surgeries, and being told she would never conceive, Brittney Zirkle is finally living her dream as a mother—and she calls it nothing short of a miracle.

The 33-year-old from Pensacola, Florida, gave birth to her daughter, Hannah Leigh, on Oct. 19, 2024, at 6:52 a.m. Hannah weighed 4 pounds, 9 ounces at birth. Despite contracting the herpes simplex virus through a kiss in her first few days, she has been healthy and thriving ever since. “Every time I tried to get pregnant, I ended up dangerously ill—doctors said having a baby would kill me,” Brittney said. “But I defied the odds, and now my family is thriving.”

A Lifelong Dream Meets Immense Challenges

From a young age, Brittney knew she wanted to be a mother. “Being a mom is my life's purpose—right from second grade, I knew it was what I wanted to be,” she said.

At 17, she joined the U.S. Army, and during her first year, her health seemed normal. But following her deployment to Iraq in 2010, everything changed. She began experiencing debilitating menstrual pain, often leaving her bedridden. “I was told by medics to suck it up,” she recalled. “I thought I was just being a baby—I’d just take some Tylenol and get on with it.”

In 2012, at just 20 years old, Brittney medically retired from the Army due to PTSD. She began working as a postpartum nurse and tried to conceive naturally with her then-partner, but nothing worked. “It just wasn’t working,” she said. “I went to a doctor in July 2013, and they just told me I had ‘unknown’ infertility.”

Diagnosis and Devastation

By 2014, her relationship ended, and Brittney became determined to understand her body’s struggles. A laparoscopy in late 2016 finally revealed the truth—stage four endometriosis, with deep lesions and large ovarian cysts. She was later diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), compounding her infertility. Her chances of having a baby naturally were less than 10 percent.

Still, Brittney refused to give up. In 2019, she tried intrauterine insemination (IUI) and became pregnant with triplets. But the joy was short-lived. One baby implanted in her abdomen and the other two in her fallopian tubes, a life-threatening condition.

“I was in so much pain from the cramping and passing out,” she said. “I was rushed to the intensive care unit until I was well enough for surgery. But when they cut me open, they found that my body had literally absorbed the babies—so they said there was nothing else they could do.”

Love, IVF, and a New Chapter

After recovering from the devastating loss, Brittney decided to pursue motherhood on her own. In 2022, she began IVF treatment using donated sperm. Just two weeks after her first embryo harvest, she met Sampson Thomas, a business owner who would soon become her husband.

The couple married in April 2023 and continued IVF together. Encouraging news followed. Brittney's egg count rose dramatically—from five to 25—and by March 2024, doctors selected a “hatching girl” embryo to implant.

“I had seven great-quality embryos, and in March 2024, they selected the strongest embryo to implant me with,” she said. “It was a hatching girl.”

A Pregnancy Marked by Danger and Determination

Although finally pregnant, Brittney faced severe complications. At 20 weeks, she was labeled a high-risk pregnancy and was scheduled for a C-section. At 34 weeks, she was rushed to Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola with preeclampsia.

She lost four liters of blood during delivery and was moved immediately to the ICU.

“It was the hardest thing I’d ever been through,” she recalled. “I kept hearing the words: ‘Massive blood loss’—I thought I was done for. After three days, I was pretty stable, and all I wanted to do was see my baby.”

Despite contracting herpes simplex virus through a kiss shortly after birth, baby Hannah recovered quickly and has remained healthy since.

The Light at the End of a Long Road

Five months after Hannah’s birth, Brittney says her life has finally come full circle. “No matter what life has thrown at me, I wake up now and I’m 110% happy,” she said. “It was a battle, but I never gave up hope.”

Today, Brittney is a stay-at-home mom, living each day with gratitude for the daughter she was told she’d never have. “I feel like my life is complete,” she said. “No matter what gets thrown at me, Hannah has given me a better outlook on life.”

Watch the video

Enjoying the article? Subscribe to GJW+ Premium to unlock award-winning drama, Three Stooges comedy, and powerful documentaries — and support this channel. Don’t miss out, it’s a limited-time offer. Start today!