Surrogate Mother Gives Birth To Twins—Then Finds Out One Is Hers

This article may contain affiliate links, learn more.

Family planning, for those who want children, can be an absolute joy. There are tons of people out there who want to raise children so badly but are unable to get pregnant for whatever reason, thus leading them to believe that they'll never have a shot at parenthood.

Luckily for them, the progression of modern science and social programs means there are a number of ways they can still have children. A popular option is surrogacy, in which another woman gets pregnant with your genetics and carries the baby for you. These services aren't perfect, though, and come with many pitfalls...a lesson one a woman in California learned the hard way.

If you're looking for more information on your life and your individual sign, then you'll need your own zodiac reading. We're each on our own unique path and what some struggle with this season, might not be applicable to you too.

Understand your purpose and your potential so that you can take control of your emotions, your life, and your future by clicking HERE.

Something Unimaginable

A woman laying in bed next to her baby.
Pexels / Polina Tankilevitch
Pexels / Polina Tankilevitch

Starting a family is, on its own, a daunting, frightening task. It's also full of joy and splendor, but any parent knows the stress that comes with it.

Now, imagine that same journey, but for the first almost year of their lives, another family whisked away your baby despite your protests. That's what happened to one woman whose extremely rare medical phenomenon turned her whole life upside down, forcing her to fight fiercely to bring her family back together.

ADVERTISEMENT

Helping Others Enjoy Motherhood

ADVERTISEMENT
An image of Jessica Allen from her segment on GMA.
YouTube / Good Morning America
YouTube / Good Morning America
ADVERTISEMENT

After having two children of her own, California resident Jessica Allen decided that her journey with pregnancy wasn't over just yet, but she also wasn't gunning for another child of her own. Instead, she chose to become a surrogate.

ADVERTISEMENT

"It was basically a way to give back, you know, and it would just be a great way to bless someone with a child, and in return, get my family blessed financially," she told CBC.

In a video segment for Good Morning America, she elaborated on her reasoning, saying, "No woman in the world should have to live their life without experiencing the love and the bond [of] a mother and a child."

ADVERTISEMENT

A Second Surprise

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
A pregnant woman receiving an ultrasound.
Pexels / MART Production
Pexels / MART Production
ADVERTISEMENT

After partnering with Omega Family Global, Allen got matched with a Chinese couple as a gestational surrogate, meaning she'd be carrying a baby made from the egg and sperm of the couple she was matched with.

ADVERTISEMENT

She agreed to one embryo being implanted, with initial scans showing that the treatment had worked and she was pregnant. However, follow-up scans showed that there were now two embryos. It's not unheard of for a single embryo to split during this type of treatment; it's just exceptionally rare. Regardless, it now meant that Allen was pregnant with twins.

"I was completely shocked."

ADVERTISEMENT

The Special Day

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
A baby being delivered in the hospital.
Pexels / Ольга Жарикова
Pexels / Ольга Жарикова
ADVERTISEMENT

After 38 weeks, the two babies were delivered via cesarean section, with the biological mother in the room as it happened alongside Allen.

ADVERTISEMENT

"I felt so bad for her, poor heart, she was a nervous wreck," Allen recalls. "I just grabbed her hand and I just told her it's going to be okay."

After the babies were delivered, they were brought out of the room almost immediately, Allen not getting the chance to see them at all. She later asked the mother to see 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.'"

ADVERTISEMENT

Rest Assured

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Two twin girls in matching dresses, spinning and dancing together.
Pexels / RODNAE Productions
Pexels / RODNAE Productions
ADVERTISEMENT

However, the caseworker from Omega, who was also present, assured her that even identical twins can come out looking different.

ADVERTISEMENT

"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."

And so Allen thought her role in this journey had ended. She accomplished what she set out to do and helped a family have children of their own.

ADVERTISEMENT

Or So She Thought

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
An image of Jessica Allen and her husband from her segment on GMA.
YouTube / Good Morning America
YouTube / Good Morning America
ADVERTISEMENT

A month later, the mother began texting Allen photos of the babies asking if she thought they looked the same to her. Apparently, she'd begun having doubts that both babies came from her embryo.

ADVERTISEMENT

See, Allen's husband, Wardell Jasper, is black. Their two previous sons were half white and half black, their skin tone notably darker than their mom's. When looking at the two babies in the photo, it was clear that one was darker than the other, matching the skin tone of Allen's other children.

They decided to run a DNA test to be sure. Lo and behold, one of the babies was not related to the Chinese couple at all.

ADVERTISEMENT

One In A Million

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
A woman standing outside cradling her pregnant stomach.
Pexels / Helena Lopes
Pexels / Helena Lopes
ADVERTISEMENT

"I immediately started freaking out. Like, What do you mean? I called my caseworker and said, 'How is the baby not theirs? Not genetically related to the father? What does that mean?'"

ADVERTISEMENT

A second DNA test proved that the baby was, in fact, her own son.

So, what happened? Either Allen was already in the earliest stages of pregnancy before receiving the treatment to carry the other couple's embryo and had no idea, or it's possible she conceived naturally after she began carrying the other child. It's a very rare phenomenon called superfetation, in which the mother continues to ovulate after already being pregnant.

ADVERTISEMENT

If It's Allen's Baby...

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
A mother cradling her baby's feet in her hand.
Pexels / Pixabay
Pexels / Pixabay
ADVERTISEMENT

Then shouldn't she get to keep it if she wants?

ADVERTISEMENT

By this point, the child was in the custody of the surrogacy agency, and they didn't seem too keen on simply letting Allen and Jasper have their baby. Allen had been paid extra for carrying twins, and their case worker was insisting that some of that money should be returned seeing as only one baby belonged to the intended parents. She was also asking for money to take care of the baby while he was still under the agency's care.

Allen's family couldn't afford all these sudden payments the agency was asking for as they had just moved into a new house. Their son was ostensibly being held hostage.

ADVERTISEMENT

A Hefty Price Tag

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
An image of Jessica Allen from her segment on GMA.
YouTube / Good Morning America
YouTube / Good Morning America
ADVERTISEMENT

"I thought I wasn't going to get him back because they were pressuring me to pay this money back first," Allen explained to PEOPLE, saying the other couple was looking for $22,000. "Then they were saying that the intending mom was thinking about giving him up for adoption."

ADVERTISEMENT

"I thought I had a child out there that I was gonna be forced to let go of all because I couldn't buy him or because I couldn't adopt him." She then added, "They wanted me to buy or adopt my own child."

ADVERTISEMENT

The Agency Made An Offer

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
An image of Jessica Allen and her husband from her segment on GMA.
YouTube / Good Morning America
YouTube / Good Morning America
ADVERTISEMENT

They said that if Allen gave up custody rights and allowed their baby to be adopted out, the bills would be paid by the adoptive family. They wanted a decision on this matter ASAP.

ADVERTISEMENT

The baby's father and Allen's husband, Wardell Jasper, refused.

"Know our decision? I'm sorry, didn't you just say the DNA test came back positive that he's our son? Give us our son. Of course, we want him back," he said.

Both sides lawyered up and shared some further communication. The agency's lawyer says Allen's version of events distorted the truth, while Allen's own lawyer demanded that the family's baby be returned to them.

ADVERTISEMENT

Still Not Finalized

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
An image of Jessica Allen's baby from her segment on GMA.
YouTube / Good Morning America
YouTube / Good Morning America
ADVERTISEMENT

The day after Allen's lawyer sent a letter to the agency regarding the situation, the case worker met up with the parents in a Starbucks parking lot and handed the baby (who they named Malachi) over to them. This was after three other failed attempts to pick up her son, each one being delayed by a new excuse from the agency.

ADVERTISEMENT

Even a year after they finally managed to pick him up successfully, Allen and Jasper were not recognized as their son's legal parents. They're not in possession of his birth certificate or social security card. They'd been working with another lawyer to try and get all these details worked out.

This case was the only known one of its kind in the world.

ADVERTISEMENT

Huge Financial Burden

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
An image of Jessica Allen and her baby from her segment on GMA.
YouTube / Good Morning America
YouTube / Good Morning America
ADVERTISEMENT

Allen and Jasper's family was put through the wringer in their attempts to get their son back.

ADVERTISEMENT

"It's very stressful financially, it's put us in debt. We're barely getting by right now and it stressed me out emotionally because this agency turned their backs on me," Allen explained. "We wouldn't be able to live with ourselves knowing that [Malachi] was out there in the care of someone else. Knowing that for the first two months of his brand new life that he was in the arms of strangers, that breaks my heart. It's really heartbreaking."

ADVERTISEMENT

Unsolvable Pain

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
An image of Jessica Allen and her family from her segment on GMA.
YouTube / Good Morning America
YouTube / Good Morning America
ADVERTISEMENT

The pain Allen and Jasper felt during this entire ordeal was unmatched. Knowing that their baby was kept away from them for months still affects them deeply.

ADVERTISEMENT

"He could have came home from the hospital with me, and on my chest and in my arms and in daddy's arms, not a bunch of strangers ... being handed around, like an item," Allen said.

"This is a type of pain that you're never going to get over because they stole something from me that I can never get back."

ADVERTISEMENT

She'll Never Return

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
An image of Jessica Allen and her husband from her segment on GMA.
YouTube / Good Morning America
YouTube / Good Morning America
ADVERTISEMENT

This whole experience ruined the thought of being a surrogate again in the future for Allen.

ADVERTISEMENT

"I was considering being a surrogate again before I found out about my son, but after this whole entire nightmare … absolutely not," she says. "I'd never do it again. I'm not the only one with a nightmare story, but I am the only one with a story like this."

Despite it all, there's still one person Allen doesn't place any blame on, and that was the mother she was originally surrogating for.

ADVERTISEMENT

A Side Of Brainwashing

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
A hand signing a legal document with a fountain pen.
Pexels / Pixabay
Pexels / Pixabay
ADVERTISEMENT

"It's not her fault […] The agency put it in her head that I was going to try to sue her. I never said those words," Allen says, laying out the false claims made by the agency that stood between both families. "Since she was scared that I was going to sue her, she starts sending me all kinds of text messages."

ADVERTISEMENT

Thankfully, there was a peaceful resolution to the situation, though obviously not ideal seeing as Allen and Jasper are still left in debt even after getting their son back.

ADVERTISEMENT

Light In The Darkness

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Thankfully, being able to actually raise their son has helped ease some of the pain this situation brought upon their family.

ADVERTISEMENT

He was 10 months old when they were able to take him home, and Jessica talked to PEOPLE about his first few days being with them. "He's a little man. He's like 10 months going on 11. He's walking around already. He's trying to talk. He has an attitude and he's funny and his personality is just goofy and bossy all at once. He walks around like he runs the world."

ADVERTISEMENT

The Bond Of Family

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
A woman holding her baby on the beach.
Pexels / Tatiana Syrikova
Pexels / Tatiana Syrikova
ADVERTISEMENT

As mentioned, this dispute is practically unheard of, as it's extremely rare, but that doesn't make it any less heinous. Keeping a baby from its rightful family—especially for money of all things—is vile, and that agency ought to be ashamed for the trouble it caused.

ADVERTISEMENT

This story serves as a reminder that family is always worth fighting for, and the love between parents and their children is an unmatched force capable of accomplishing anything. These two brave souls fought tooth and nail for their baby to come home, and that's the type of dedication we should strive to see in every family.

Are you interested in learning more about the secrets of your dreams? Tap into the 4,000-year-old science of Numerological Analysis with a FREE Numerology video report!

That's right, the numerology of your birth date, regardless of your Zodiac sign, can help you discover detailed information about who you truly are and what is hiding in your subconscious. You won't believe how accurate it is!

Click HERE to learn what Numerology says about your life using only your Birth Date.