Some things are not quite what they seem to be. For one surrogate mother, her dream come true actually ended up becoming her biggest nightmare...
Searching for a Surrogate
Surrogacy is an arrangement in which someone agrees to bear a child for someone who is otherwise unable to conceive. This practice, while oftentimes risky and expensive, has recently been legalized in a number of states.
The Cost of Carrying
Surrogate mothers charge upwards of $100,000 to carry someone else's child! Additionally, most states in the US have not legalized surrogacy, and if you live in an illegal state, you have very little options. On rare occasions, things can get tricky in surrogate relationships, but they usually don't go the way that it did for one particular surrogate mother named Jessica Allen...
Welcome, Jessica Allen
Jessica was 31-years-old when she decided to become a surrogate. She and her husband, Wardell, just had their second child and Jessica was not ready to move back to her old life, so she looked into becoming a surrogate. This was the best option for her because she would able to stay home and take care of her newborn son without having to worry about working a traditional job.
Thinking it Through
Jessica's husband, Wardell, was all for it. He was proud of Jessica for remaining strong through her previous pregnancies, and he could see that she was experienced and driven enough to pursue one more while she was still healthy. Jessica knew that this was the right thing to do, but nothing could have prepared her for what was to come...
Getting Signed
Jessica applied to one single clinic, underwent a physical, and was selected to become a surrogate pretty much immediately. Usually, there is a significant waiting period for surrogate mothers, but Jessica was in such fantastic health that they decided to get her started as soon as possible.
Finding a Match
Jessica ended up getting connected with a Chinese family from NYC who were unable to conceive on their own. Based on Jessica's body type, she was perfect to carry the Liu family's child. Little did they know, she would eventually be carrying a bit more than just their child...
Getting Started
After a brief waiting period, the family was ready to start their surrogacy in April of 2016. Jessica had to undergo weeks of medical analysis before she was cleared to get the embryo implanted. Before she knew it, she was put under anesthesia and had Mrs. Liu's embryo implanted in her womb.
The Wait Begins...
After nine painstakingly long days, the family was able to call the impregnation a success. There is a somewhat high failure rate for first-time surrogates, but it just seemed like Jessica was the prime subject for their baby. According to her doctor, she had to stick to a strict diet and avoid all physical activity. This was going to be nothing like her former pregnancies, and nobody really knew what to expect...
The Baby is Doing Well
After her first six weeks of pregnancy, Jessica went in for an ultrasound. The baby was safely and healthily growing, just like the doctors suspected it to be. However, there was one abnormality.
Twins?
The doctor noted that the embryo had split and that it was growing two babies inside of Jessica's womb. When the doctor told the Liu family, they were ecstatic. However, this was the first time something like this had ever occurred...
Keeping an Eye on It
The doctors thought that the fact Jessica was having twins was strange, but not completely out of the realm of possibility. Eight months later, Jessica found herself in the operating room, getting a c-section to remove both of the twins. Mrs. Liu sat in the operating with her while the doctors delivered them.
It Was All a Blur
As soon as Jessica finished giving birth, the doctors were instructed to break Jessica's contract and remove the babies from the room immediately. Jessica was contractually obligated to spend at least an hour with the children before they got taken away. Mrs. Liu seemed perturbed, Jessica could see her angrily waving her arms around through the opaque screen that separated her from the operating room attendants...
Feeling Strange
Jessica quickly fell asleep after that. She was woken up the next day by Mrs. Liu entering her hospital room unannounced, without being accompanied by a nurse or doctor. Mrs. Liu showed Jessica a picture of the babies she had just delivered, and they looked... strange.
In and Out of Reality
Jessica couldn't properly digest this information because she was still on a ton of drugs from the surgery from the day before. She slipped back into unconsciousness and woke up several hours later to a text from Mrs. Liu. The text read "Have you thought about why they are different?" which was followed up by "They're not the same, and you know why..."
Getting to the Bottom of This
Strangely, what Mrs. Liu was talking about was the fact that the babies were of seemingly different races. One baby was of Chinese descent, and the other was mixed caucasian and African American. A standard DNA test proved this. The doctors were completely stunned.
This is a New Thing
The doctors on this case called this occurance "superfetation." Somehow, during the gestation period with the first egg, Jessica had gotten pregnant from her husband. They genuinely had no idea how this happened, evidently, they refrained from sex just like the doctor told them to...
Accidents Happen
Mrs. Liu accused Jessica of braking her contract, but the doctors were able to prove that she, in fact, did not. Nobody knows how this went down, but in the end, Jessica was glad it did. The only thing she had to worry about after giving birth was what Mrs. Liu wanted to do with her child.
There Was No Way to Tell
The doctors on the case didn't even have an inkling idea as to how or why this happened. They suspected that they would have been able to test for it at the beginning of the pregnancy, but somehow this eluded the doctors. It's almost as if this baby came as a miracle...
The Unspeakable Happens
Mrs. Liu was fed up with this whole situation. She was mortified, and she and her husband abandoned their new baby with the agency, then moved back to China without uttering a word to Jessica or her family. They did, however, leave a notice to Jessica's lawyers. They were trying to sue her for $22,000 in damages.
Money Was Not the Concern
Knowing that she was safe from legal persecution, Jessica turned her attention to the safety of her new baby. According to the agency, they had already lined up adoptive parents that were willing to pay top dollar for Jessica's child. She had to do something, and she had to do it fast...
Bring Him Back!
After taking the agency to court, Jessica was able to eventually get her baby back. The family was ecstatic. Finally, they were able to welcome a new face into their home. One that actually belonged there...
Welcome Home, Malachi
The couple decided to name the baby "Malachi." According to them, the baby was hilarious right off the bat. Wardell said that he took right after his mother...
Dropping Surrogacy as a Career
Jessica felt betrayed by her agency. So, she decided to drop being a surrogate mother and started studying surrogate law. After a long legal battle, she was able to sue the agency for emotional damages that she and her family dealt with over this whole ordeal.
New Beginnings
The family was able to relocate to California with the winnings they received in court. They were able to move into a new home with a huge back yard just for their kids. Jessica got to finally pursue her dream of staying home and raising her family, even if she took on legal cases from time to time.
Speaking of Legal Cases...
Recently, the inverse of this particular instance occurred. Although there has never been another surrogate to give birth to a second child while gestating, one surrogate mother felt such a connection to her baby that she tried to run away with it. Sadly, that baby wasn't hers to keep...
One for the Books
A surrogate mother in Germany had never given birth before she became a surrogate. She lied about her experience as a midwife to try and get pregnant with a surrogate child. Clearly, she had a few screws loose...
As the Date Crept Closer...
The woman began making arrangements to get out of Germany by the time the baby had almost completely developed. At first, her arrangements were gradual. But, over time, her surrogate agency noticed that she had been renting a lot of moving equipment, and she had been frequenting airline ticket websites...
Taking the Cash and Running
This surrogate mother demanded that she get paid before she gave birth, just in case her clients ran away with the money. However, the agency she was working with had prepared themselves for this possibility, and they called the police on her for conspiring to steal a baby. The woman was arrested, and she gave birth in an ambulance on the way to jail...
Doing Hard Time
This woman's plan was to flee to several European countries before she could effectively fake a passport and come to America with her new child. She was jailed for three years and then moved to a psychiatric hospital for further evaluation. This occurance was just as sad as it was jarring for the surrogate family...
Never Trust Anyone, Especially Someone With Your Baby
Surrogate mothers have an extremely good track record around the board, but you never quite know who to trust at the end of the day. Fortunately, Jessica had a strong set of morals that helped her get behind her own pregnancy and win the battle ethically. There should be more people out there like Jessica. You rock!