NASCAR Driver and His Wife Continue to Help Infertile Couples

Kyle and Samantha Busch know what it’s like to long for a baby. The famed NASCAR driver and his wife waited five years after they were married to try starting a family…and they thought it would happen quickly after that. But they were mistaken. A few months of trying turned into more than a year and, at that point, the pair knew they had to reach out and try to find the answers to why they couldn’t conceive.

It turns out that Samantha had polycystic ovarian syndrome and that Kyle had fertility issues of his own as well, making natural conception an impossible feat for the couple. So they turned to IVF, heading to a clinic in their hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina, one with a good reputation and an impressive success rate.

About one in every eight couples in the United States struggle with fertility in one way or another, most data indicates. The Busches were obviously one of those couples. But they considered themselves lucky for one primary reason. They could afford the IVF treatments. Sure, they may have been struggling to get pregnant and they would continue to struggle, but at least they had options, afforded to them by Kyle’s successful career as a NASCAR driver.

Samantha did indeed become pregnant with the couple’s first and – currently – only child, and because she was married to a high-profile individual, especially in racing circles, she felt as if it was her responsibility to reach out to others who were dealing with the same heart-wrenching issues.

So during her pregnancy with son Braxton, she started to blog and post on social media, letting others know about how journey with IVF, which included not only the successes but also the crushing blows the couple had been dealt along the way and since then. (Busch recently miscarried after doctors implanted an embryo that would have been their baby girl.)

But the Busches realized that, thanks to their comfortable position in life, they could do more. They realized that the average round of IVF treatments costs about $20,000 and that many considering the treatment don’t have coverage that includes infertility treatments.

So they started the Kyle & Samantha Busch Bundle of Joy Fund, which provides assistance to in-need families struggling with infertility. Organized in conjunction with the REACH Clinic in Charlotte, it has already helped many reach their goal of successfully conceiving through IVF.

So far, 37 families have benefitted from the Busches kindness and the foundation has raised some half-million dollars so it can keep helping. But while Samantha treasures the notes of thanks from grateful North Carolina couples, she knows that the fund – and others like it – will only go so far. She knows it’s all about changing health insurance laws and convincing corporations that infertility benefits are essential.

“My ultimate goal, it’s kind of a three-step process. Bundle of Joy is the grassroots, with the clinic we went to, helping couples on the ground,” she explained. “My next goals over the next few years are working with more private insurance companies to get companies to have benefits for their employees, and then ultimately to go to the state level.”

She hopes change will come soon.