An astronaut has shared a heartbreaking pregnancy update, revealing she lost her baby while preparing for her next space mission. Kellie Gerardi, 36, has been documenting her IVF journey on social media, excitedly telling her followers in a video posted on February 1 that she was pregnant with her second child after transferring her only healthy embryo.
![[However, after telling followers she would 'graduate' from IVF clinic after her next appointment, Gerardi had to share that she had lost her baby at eight weeks]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/02/24/20/95540779-14431343-However_after_telling_followers_she_would_graduate_from_IVF_clin-m-42_1740427861590.jpg)
However, after telling followers she would 'graduate' from IVF clinic after her next appointment, Gerardi had to share that she had lost her baby at eight weeks. 'I'm completely shocked and horrified and sorry to have to share this update after the past eight weeks of miraculous joy. My heart is shattered,' the astronaut wrote in a post to Instagram on February 15 - which also happened to be her 36th birthday.
Gerardi, who shares a daughter with her husband, explained they couldn't find a heartbeat during the ultrasound. 'I'm not sure how to process the shock. I had clear pregnancy symptoms,' the devastated mom wrote. Gerardi said she was still experiencing pregnancy symptoms, admitting it felt 'surreal,' especially as the chance of miscarrying were low.
'My doctor was somewhat surprised too, but even with a "healthy" PGT-tested embryo and even though the chances of miscarriage were below three percent at this stage,' she explained. Kellie Gerardi, 36, has been documenting her IVF journey on social media.
'There are always some people that fall on the sad side of those statistics. And I am one of them,' Gerardi said tearfully. 'Tomorrow is my 36th birthday and I was planning for a gender reveal. Instead I'll have pre-op for a D&C (dilation and curettage),' she said.
'I'm so stunned and I'm sorry to anyone that was clinging to my story as a source of hope. What happened to me at this stage was rare, so hold on to your joy,' she urged. 'We will run every test we can think of (again) in the hopes of more data or answers but I'm preparing myself for none. This is just a sad but very real part of the IVF journey,' the devastated mom concluded the emotional post.
Gerardi has been open about her IVF struggles, posting a video showing her struggles with infertility. In a previous post to social media, she revealed she started IVF in the fall of 2024 and retrieved 24 eggs, but only 13 of those eggs were mature and just 10 could be fertilized.
She showed herself before, during and after her IVF journey, concluding with her finding out she was expecting. 'But here we are, somewhat miraculously, after seven years of secondary infertility, filled with hope that this one single healthy embryo continues to defy the odds,' she captioned the video.
However, after telling followers she would 'graduate' from IVF clinic after her next appointment, Gerardi had to share that she had lost her baby at eight weeks. The astronaut and mom will be heading into space again in 2026. The upcoming flight, which is led by Virgin Galactic, will expand on the research mission from her November 2023 flight.
The expedition will be an all-female science team, with scientists Dr. Shawna Pandya and Dr. Norah Patten joining the mission. Gerardi, who is from Jupiter, Florida, tied the knot with her husband, private equity specialist Steven Baumruk, in 2015. The couple share Delta, aged seven, whom they welcomed in 2017.
