CINCINNATI, Ohio—About one in eight couples struggle with infertility. But there are a growing number of options to help couples start a family. 

​​Miles Stewart is like any other two-year-old. He loves cars and fire trucks and dancing. But the way he was brought into this world is unique.

“Miles is neither of ours so he’s equally both of ours," Kari Stewart, Miles' mother said.

Miles was born using embryo adoption.

Chris and Kari were unable to conceive a child on their own. When they learned Chris had a low sperm count, they looked at all options before deciding on embryo adoption — a process where an embryo from another couple’s IVF cycle is used to get pregnant.

“These are embryos that were created by another couple." Dr. Suruchi Thakore the Stwearts' doctor, as well as the medical director for UC Health center for reproductive health, said. "So it’s their own genetic material, their eggs or their sperm. Usually in an IVF cycle they have enough to have one or two kids, or ideally more. And sometimes families decide after one or two kids they don’t want to have additional children, so then they’ve got these extra embryos.“

The couple says they either wanted a child that was entirely theirs genetically or neither of theirs, which was why embryo adoption worked for them.

“The first time we heard about it, we just had a feeling like this is right, this is for us, and we never really looked back after that," Kari said.

Despite the new found hope, Kari and Chris still faced heartbreak.

“We went in with our eyes totally closed to what the reality could be," Kari said. "So after that transfer in May, we got pregnant and thought this is it. This was the right choice, we’re going to have our baby. And then very shortly afterwards, we had a very early miscarriage.”

A few months later, they were pregnant again. This time with Miles.

“Going through something really difficult where you know having a child is not a given, it’s not something that is 100 percent guaranteed, you’re just grateful for every second," Chris said.

Dr. Thakore says seeing a family go through the process with a baby on the other end of it is one of the best parts of her job.

“It is the most rewarding experience to be able to see these journeys come to fruition and be able to offer these families an option that they’ve never had before," Dr. Thakore said.

Today that journey continues for Chris, Kari, and now Miles. They’re pregnant again, and Miles is set to be a big brother.

“We’ve been really excited that Miles is going to have a sibling that can relate to his unique experience and unique coming into this world," Kari said.

While they’re looking forward to the new baby, they’re still taking each day one at a time. And they say they hope their openness about their journey to parenthood will help other couples going through similar experiences.

“Just holding out hope that it will be ok in the end, even if it takes awhile and doesn’t look the way you imagined it would look," Kari said.