For many families, the path to parenthood is not always simple. Behind every pregnancy announcement or newborn photo is often a story filled with uncertainty, heartbreak, resilience, and hope.
For Las Vegas mom Mia Kaercher, that journey began years before IVF, fertility treatments, or surrogacy ever entered the picture. After Mia’s mother was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer, she discovered at just 20 years old that she carried the BRCA1 gene mutation — a diagnosis that immediately changed the way she viewed her future, health, and family planning.
“Being told at a young age that you will likely need a double mastectomy and hysterectomy someday is a lot of pressure,” Mia shared. “Not only on yourself, but on a relationship when you know you want to have children.”
Years later, shortly before getting engaged, her father was diagnosed with ALS. Suddenly, the timeline she once imagined for building a family became much more urgent.
“We got married within six months because I could not bear the thought of my dad never getting to know my future children and vice versa.”
When Mia and her husband Chad began trying to conceive, she immediately knew something wasn’t right.
“I had no cycle and no ovulation for months. After initially being told everything looked medically fine, I let several more months pass with no change. I knew something was wrong, and I knew I had no time to waste.”
That instinct eventually led her to The Fertility Center of Las Vegas and Dr. Carrie Bedient, where their IVF journey officially began.
Navigating IVF, Loss, and Heartbreak
Mia and Chad’s fertility journey was far from easy. After multiple procedures to treat endometritis and a successful egg retrieval resulting in four healthy embryos, they proceeded with an embryo transfer cycle. Unfortunately, due to Mia’s medical history, the embryo transfer process encountered setbacks, including canceled or unsuccessful transfer cycles that brought emotional challenges and uncertainty.
“If you know how difficult that two-week wait is…you know.”
Mia and Chad were advised to pursue surrogacy, knowing the matching process could potentially take over a year. But in an unexpected turn, they matched with a surrogate just two days later — the fastest timeline Dr. Bedient had ever seen.
Soon after, they received the news they had been hoping for: a successful surrogate transfer. At that point, Mia decided to move forward with her preventative double mastectomy and focused on healing physically and emotionally while still holding onto hope that she might someday carry a child herself.
Then came another unexpected surprise.
“After not feeling well, I reached out to the clinic and that’s when I found out I was almost 16 weeks pregnant! Dr. Bedient was floored.”
A Story of Hope
Today, their family includes two beautiful children — son Woods and daughter Cohyn — born exactly six weeks apart, lovingly known as “twiblings.” After years of infertility, IVF, surgeries, transfer setbacks, and emotional uncertainty, their story became something they describe as nothing short of a miracle.
Now, Mia is sharing her journey publicly in hopes of helping others feel less alone while navigating infertility, fertility treatment, surrogacy, and major medical decisions.
“Be your own health advocate. Trust your instincts. Ask questions. Know that you know your body best,” she said.
“I’d love to be a resource for absolutely anyone whose life may be affected by any of the things I’ve mentioned above. I never want anyone to feel alone.”
Raising Awareness Through the Super Mom Competition
In addition to sharing her story publicly through FOX5 Las Vegas, Mia is currently participating in the Super Mom competition to continue raising awareness around infertility, motherhood, resilience, and advocacy.
- Supporters can vote daily here: CLICK TO VOTE
- You can also watch her FOX5 Las Vegas feature here: CLICK TO VIEW
- Follow along on Instagram and TikTok: @miakaercher
There Is No One “Right” Path to Parenthood
Every fertility journey looks different. Some paths involve IVF, surrogacy, fertility preservation, donor options, or unexpected twists along the way.
Stories like Mia’s remind us that even through heartbreak and uncertainty, hope can still exist — and sometimes sharing your story becomes part of helping someone else continue theirs.
If you are navigating infertility or exploring fertility treatment options, The Fertility Center of Las Vegas is here to help guide and support you through your journey to parenthood.
