Erin Andrews on Surrogacy, IVF, and Overcoming the ‘Forever’ Mom Guilt

The famous Fox Sports reporter has partnered with Enfamil for a campaign to help others feel less alone.

Fact checked by Sarah Scott

Almost a year into motherhood, Erin Andrews is seeing her son Mack Roger Stoll reach several special milestones. He’s “crushing” the transition to solids, says Andrews, along with crawling, pulling himself up, and “teething like a beast right now.”

He’s recognizing certain songs and books, and “if he figures out a game, we’re like, ‘Woo! Look at you; you're a genius,” jokes Andrews.

These moments are fun and fascinating. But the famous Fox Sports reporter's road to parenthood was anything but easy.

The sportscaster was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2016, at age 39, and was encouraged to freeze her eggs before beginning treatment, which she did. Andrews underwent two surgeries for the cancer. She also had to have some real conversations with her then boyfriend, now husband, retired hockey player Jarret Stoll, about having children together.

Their grueling fertility journey eventually began: they had nine unsuccessful cycles of in-vitro fertilization (IVF). They dealt with egg production difficulties and failed embryos. The couple eventually decided on surrogacy, which presented its own challenges, but Mack was born in June 2023.

Andrews decision to open up about her fertility journey stems from her outspoken personality, but also the fact she was, well, fed up.

“I’d been pumping myself with hormones for nine years,” she says. “Like, this chick was ready to burst; I was just over it.”

She’s continuing to speak out about all that comes with motherhood, including feeding babies. “We were faced with the reality of having to research a lot of formulas, and feed him formula because that's what you have to do when you have a surrogate,” explains Andrews.

The couple was introduced to Enfamil in the hospital and they have since been giving their baby the brand’s Enspire Optimum.

“One of the things that we really liked about Enfamil Enspire Optimum was the fact it had lactoferrin in it, which of course is the protein found in breast milk and colostrum,” says Andrews, who has also partnered with the company for the Bottle Up campaign to highlight the fertility struggles many people face, while providing support for all roads to parenthood.

Sharing Her Infertility Struggles

Opening up about her fertility journey didn’t come naturally at first. Andrews recalls trips to the fertility clinic and initially not wanting other patients to spot her.

Around her eighth retrieval, she overheard another patient speaking about her first retrieval through the sheet that separated them in the clinic. Andrews remembers coaching her behind the sheet, saying, “Your first day sucks, but this is the easiest thing through the last month that you've been through. You're going to be fine.”

The emotional moment inspired Andrews to use her platform to speak up about infertility.

“There's so many people that are dealing with it and the reality is it's really freaking hard,” explains Andrews. “There's a lot of stories that are unsuccessful and heartbreaking. I want to tell people they're not alone.”

Research shows up to 15% of couples have trouble conceiving after one year of having unprotected sex. Options like IVF and surrogacy are becoming more commonplace thanks in part to figures like Andrews who are normalizing them.

The lengthy and expensive process of surrogacy was difficult for Andrews and her husband, particularly because of their embryo issues. “We knew we didn't have a lot; we didn't have room for error; we didn't have room for failed attempts because we just didn't have a lot in the bank,” says Andrews.

The couple admittedly also did not fully understand the realities of the process and that surrogacy doesn’t guarantee a live birth. They used two embryos for their first surrogacy attempt in 2021, and the transfer was unsuccessful.

“That was extremely difficult in terms of grieving because we had dealt with so much failure in the IVF process, we thought we were golden when we made it this far,” she says. “And it's even harder because you have to go through interviewing a person, you have to go through getting them prepped, you have to pay their medical, you have to have them go through medical, you have to go to these appointments with them. I went to the transfer. There’s a lot of bonding and then when it didn’t work, it was like, ‘God, what now?’”

Ultimately, Andrews says she and are her husband are lucky to have been matched with the organization that helped them find their surrogate for Mack.

Dealing with Mom Guilt

Since her baby’s birth, she’s faced other challenges like navigating that ever persistent mom guilt.

Less than eight weeks after Mack was born, Andrews was back at work reporting during football season. It was hard, she says, because she felt she missed a lot in his first six months. She’s still a force on the sidelines, while also running her sports apparel companies, Wear and Baby Wear, but Andrews is learning to go easy on herself.

“I’m grateful because I have a lot of women in the NFL, in sports, that have reached out and kind of given their advice, like, ‘Don't be too hard on yourself—get ready, this is just the beginning of mom guilt,’” she says. “It's going to be there forever, I guess.”

But, in the beginning, Andrews couldn’t shake feeling guilty for complaining that motherhood felt hard, especially because she had help. Her baby nurse helped put things into perspective: “She said, ‘No, you need to be honest to moms and say this takes a village. Don't think you can do this all by yourself because you shouldn't feel like you have to,’” says Andrews. “She was like, ‘You don't have to feel ashamed for this.’”

Now, Andrews can proudly embrace the fact that she’s a career woman and acknowledges that it just makes her a better parent.

“Listen, I love my job. I love what I've created for myself in terms of being a broadcaster, and the brand that we have with the team apparel line I run,” she says. “I know I wouldn't be the best mom, or the best wife to my husband, if I wasn't involved in that. It's my passion. I feel like it brings out the tired version of me, but my best self. So, I'm going to stay the course.”

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