pregnant woman in red dress
Sarah Biren
Sarah Biren
April 8, 2021 ·  4 min read

Surrogate Mom Becomes Pregnant With Own Child While Carrying Couple’s Baby

After Jessica Allen gave birth to two healthy sons, she decided to become a surrogate mom. With a five-year-old and a six-month baby at home, it was a good way to earn money (as in $30,000) while being a stay-at-home mother and helping someone else have children of their own. So she carried a baby for a couple from China, only discover that she carried twins. But one of the babies was her biological son. A custody battle ensued as Jessica Allen fought to get her infant back. [1]

Surrogate Mom Carries Twins — But One Baby is Hers

Allen had originally agreed to have one embryo implanted, so she was shocked to discover she was carrying two children. The doctor explained that the embryo must have split to create identical twins. 

However, that was only the beginning of the roller coaster. The intended mother was present by the birth to take pictures before whisking the infants out of the delivery room. Allegedly, the contract allowed Allen to spend an hour with the babies before they are taken away. In the end, she didn’t see them until later, when she asked the intended mother for a photo.

They had beanies on with their head turned to the side so it was just a little side shot and I said, ‘Wow, they look different.’[2]

But the caseworker reassured Allen that it’s possible for identical twins to be born looking different. Allen accepted this, saying, “I just thought of it as, ‘Wow, you learn something new every day’ because I didn’t know that identical twins can come out not looking identical. So I didn’t think anything of it at that time.” 

The DNA Tests

About a month later, the surrogate mom received pictures of the babies from the intended mother, who asked if the babies look the same. Allen agreed that the babies didn’t look identical at all. For reference, Allen is white while her husband Wardell Jasper is black, and the couple is from China. The mother had waited for Allen to recover from the C-section before expressing her doubts. Then the DNA tests showed that one of the babies was not related to the couple at all. Instead, it was Allen’s baby.

I was heartbroken knowing I carried a baby I didn’t know was mine and that he was taken from me without my knowledge and was in the arms of other people where he did not belong,” Allen said.

This incredible phenomenon couldn’t be fully explained. It’s possible that Allen was already pregnant at the time of the transfer, or she had conceived after becoming a surrogate mom. This occurrence is called superfetation and it’s rare but possible. It happens when the woman continues to ovulate after becoming impregnated.

The Custody Battle

When all of this DNA came to light, the surrogacy agency took custody of the baby. Since Allen was paid more for carrying twins, the caseworker wanted her to return the money to the couple. She also asked for money for childcare while the agency took care of the baby. The surrogacy agency also offered an alternative. If Allen agreed to give up custody rights, the new adoptive parents would pay the bills.

However, the next day after hearing the DNA results, Allen and Jasper knew that they wanted their son back. But since they were not the legal parents — the intended mother signed the birth certificate — they faced much legal trouble to get their biological baby home. [3]

Allen tried to get her son three times before they succeeded in reuniting. “We tried to get him on numerous occasions, but one excuse they gave us was the intended parents didn’t want to sign over the power of attorney, so we didn’t get him,” Allen says. “We got another call and we were supposed to get him, then we didn’t because they were thinking about giving him up for adoption.

After a long, stressful, and expensive, battle, the family was finally reunited. They named the baby Malachi and the family couldn’t be happier.

The moment was incredibly emotional, and I started hugging and kissing my boy,” Allen said. “Wardell and I, who got married in April, weren’t planning to expand our family so soon, but we treasure Malachi with all our hearts. I don’t regret becoming a surrogate mom because that would mean regretting my son. I just hope other women considering surrogacy can learn from my story. And that a greater good will come out of this nightmare.[4]

In conclusion, she doesn’t plan on becoming a surrogate mom again. [5]

Keep Reading: Woman Gave Birth To Her Own Biological Granddaughter So Her Son Could Have a Child

Sources

  1. “Surrogate mom says she became pregnant with her own child while carrying another couple’s baby.” ABC News. October 30, 2017
  2. “How a surrogate twin pregnancy turned into a custody battle over unrelated babies.” CBC. December 5, 2017
  3. “Surrogate mother of ‘twins’ finds one is hers.BBC. November 3, 2017
  4. “Surrogate mother forced to give away own child after surprise twin pregnancy.Independent. Amy B. Wang. November 3, 2017 
  5. “Surrogate Mom Who Gave Birth to Biological Son Says Couple ‘Wanted Me to Buy My Child’.” People. Char Adams. November 1, 2017