A new mum says she nearly died conceiving her "miracle" baby - after doctors said she couldn't have children."

Brittney Zirkle, 33, tried to conceive for 14 years since she left the US Army in December 2012 - with her ex, as a single mum by choice, and with her now-husband, business owner Sampson Thomas, 34,

She was diagnosed with stage four endometriosis and PCOS, and told she had a "less than 10%" chance of ever having a baby. "

In 2022, Brittney started IVF, and in May 2024, after seeing her healthy egg count increase, she fell pregnant with a viable embryo.

Despite nearly dying "multiple times" during conception and while delivering Hannah on October 19, 2024, the new mum-of-one says her family is "thriving," and both mum and baby are healthier than ever."

Brittney, a stay-at-home mum from Pensacola, Florida, said: "Every time I tried to get pregnant, I ended up dangerously ill - doctors said having a baby would kill me. "

"But I defied the odds, and now my family is thriving."

"No matter what life has thrown at me, I wake up now and I'm 110% happy. "

"Being a mum is my life's purpose - right from second grade, I knew it was what I wanted to be."

"It was a battle, but I never gave up hope."

At the age of 17, Brittney joined the US Army, and said her periods were "normal" for the first year. "

But after being deployed to Iraq in September 2010, her periods became extremely painful and heavy - often leaving her bedridden.

"I was told by medics to suck it up," she said. "

"I thought I was just being a baby - I'd just take some Tylenol and get on with it."

In December 2012, at the age of 20, Brittney took early retirement from the army due to PTSD.

She began working as a postpartum nurse, and in the meantime, she tried to conceive a baby naturally with her then-partner.

After a year-and-a-half and with no luck Brittney decided to speak to her doctor about her fertility struggles.

"It just wasn't working," she added. "

"I went to a doctor in July 2013, and they just told me I had ‘unknown' infertility. "

"Basically, they didn't know what was causing it - I had no idea about endometriosis or PCOS at the time, no-one ever mentioned it."

By 2014, Brittney and her ex-partner had split - prompting her to take a deeper look into her issues with fertility.

In November 2016, after looking into the possibility of endometriosis, Brittney underwent an investigative laparoscopy, where her surgeon took a look inside her stomach for evidence of the disease.

She received her results in January 2017, which revealed she had stage four endometriosis - which means she had deep lesions and large ovarian cysts.

Her doctor gave her a less than 10% chance of conceiving naturally.

In 2019, Brittney underwent a fertility treatment called intrauterine insemination, in which her then-partner's sperm was directly placed into her uterus.

She fell pregnant with triplets just weeks later - but one baby implanted in her abdomen and two were stuck in her fallopian tubes - putting her at risk of sepsis.

Brittney said:

"I was in so much pain from the cramping and the passing out. "

"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."

Three years after the ordeal, the mum-of-one decided to become a single mum by choice and go ahead with IVF using donated sperm.

But two weeks after her first round of embryo harvesting, Brittney met her now-husband, Sampson.

They married in April 2023, and decided to keep going with the IVF as a couple - and three months later, Brittney's results "shot up" from five viable eggs harvested to 25. "

She said: "I had seven great quality embryos, and in March 2024, they selected the strongest embryo to implant me with. "

"It was a hatching girl."

Brittney's pregnancy went ahead for the first time since she was 19 - but the new mum says she suffered "badly" with things going wrong. "

At 20 weeks, she was classified as a high-risk pregnancy and told she'd need a C-section - and at 34 weeks, was rushed to the Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital, Pensacola, for an emergency C-section after her blood pressure showed pre-eclampsia.

The new mum lost four litres of blood during delivery, and was transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU) immediately afterwards.

Hannah Leigh was born at 6:52am on October 19, 2024, weighing 4lb 9oz, and despite contracting the herpes simplex virus through a kiss in her first few days, has been healthy since.

"It was the hardest thing I'd ever been through," Brittney said. "

"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." "

Five months on, the family are doing well - and Brittney is "so excited" to be living her dream after 14 years. "

"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."