Indianapolis woman shares struggle about infertility

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indianapolis woman who dealt with infertility for five years is sharing her story in an effort to help others.

Beth Smith is the Owner of Simplicity Cold Pressed Juice headquartered in Broad Ripple. Her juices are sold at various stores throughout Indianapolis.

The business has been around for about seven years but the inspiration behind the business is personal.

Smith had her first daughter with no complications but quickly realized there were problems when she and her husband were trying to have another child.

“I had a fertility issue and I didn’t want to change my diet and lifestyle so I went on to plug my gut with $10,000 worth of drugs every single month because I thought that was easier. I had six IU’s, nine IVFs, two additional with a surrogate, four miscarriages, the whole nine yards,” she said.

She struggled with infertility for five years and had all but given up hope. 

“I started drinking live juices and then I felt better, felt better. Before I knew it I was six weeks pregnant and so we had a baby boy, Mac at 39,” she said.

She got pregnant within weeks of her change in lifestyle. She would later go on to have a second daughter, Nelly.

“I was just like any average American I thought. I drank Diet Cokes, I ate fast food, I would take clients out to restaurants, things like that so I thought I was just normal,” said Smith. “Our bodies know how to heal themselves when we give them the right fuel, it makes the changes and takes our body where we need to go.”

Her change in lifestyle and outlook led to the start of the business Simplicity. 

Smith said since then, she has connected with many women who have been through the same thing.

“When we eat a more balanced and more rounded, you’re getting a wider variety of nutrients and it can help with fertility,” said Clinical Dietician Katie Hake with IU Health. 

According to the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, just a five percent reduction in weight can help with fertility.

Choosing whole foods, especially vegetables rich in iron like beans and spinach, may lower
the risk of infertility.

Eating more veggies, healthy monounsaturated fats, whole grains and calcium-rich foods
will not only meet nutritional needs for the baby, but also promote a healthy weight in the
mother.