USWNT legend Carli Lloyd pregnant with her first child, details ‘indescribable roller coaster’ IVF journey

Retired U.S. women’s national team star Carli Lloyd and her husband Brian Hollins are expecting their first child after undergoing multiple rounds of in vitro fertilization. Lloyd announced her pregnancy on Instagram on Wednesday and said her baby was due in October.

“It’s been a rollercoaster ride to get to this point,” Lloyd wrote. “We are beyond thrilled to be parents! »

Lloyd, a two-time World Cup winner and two-time Olympic gold medalist, made 316 appearances for the USWNT and scored 134 goals and 61 assists. His decorated career includes scoring three goals in the United States’ victory over Japan in the 2015 World Cup final.

In 2021, Lloyd retired at age 39 and turned to a career in broadcasting.

Lloyd detailed her pregnancy journey in a personal essay for Women’s Health magazine and said she always wanted to be a mom, but didn’t think much about it during her football career. After retiring, she struggled to get pregnant and eventually began IVF treatments in April 2023.

“It was a waiting game that we literally had no control over,” Lloyd said in the essay. “And it’s hard. I have felt every emotion throughout my career – stress, worry, fear, anxiety – but I had never felt all the emotions that IVF brought on. I felt completely out of control. It’s an indescribable roller coaster unless you ride it.

Lloyd said she underwent three rounds of IVF before finding out in February that she was pregnant. She decided to share her story about her fertility struggles “to show other women that it’s okay to struggle.”

“I conquered the football world and I consider myself very strong, but I was at my weakest during this whole process,” Lloyd said. “It’s okay to feel broken and hopeless, but to never give up and keep going. …I went from feeling embarrassed, ashamed, and afraid to tell people I was undergoing IVF to now wanting to share my story to help others.

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(Photo: Dennis Schneidler / USA Today)