Midwestern mom of two becomes a surrogate for a couple she met via Instagram
Samantha Matthews, 38, is a lifestyle influencer. Pics/Instagram
Samantha Matthews, 31, is a mother of two and a lifestyle influencer from Missouri, who was recently pregnant for the third time. But it is not these credentials or her bulging belly that has attracted attention. Matthews was pregnant with a foetus she was holding for a couple from Manhattan, whom she had never met in person, but who had slid into her DMs on Instagram.
As a gestational surrogate—someone who lends their womb (and not their eggs) for the pregnancy, Matthews was reportedly paid approximately $40,000 (over Rs 31 lakh). The child was born on July 27.
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The Manhattan-based couple learnt of Matthews’ interest in surrogacy through her online testimonial about almost serving as a surrogate to another couple she met online on October 2018. She had posted about the experience in the Facebook group “Surrogates and Intended Parents Match and Chat”. The couple approached her on Instagram and Matthews agreed to the terms.
With COVID-19 looming, the parents-to-be attended all of Matthews’ doctor’s appointments and ultrasound sessions virtually. The couple, however, made it physically to the delivery room for their child’s birth. The content creator, with the help of her husband Dan, 34, documented the whole journey, but kept herself and her family emotionally detached from the baby on board.
“Every step of the way I kept reminding myself, ‘This is not my baby, this is for [the couple]. They get to celebrate those milestones, and we’re celebrating baby’s life for them,” says Mathews. While she was carrying the child, Mathews relied heavily on her family and friends to look after her own biological children: Five-year-old son Canyon and four-year-old daughter Ember.
They also had to be explained that the surrogacy is to help another couple in distress and that they could not think of the baby as a “little brother” or “little sister” or even use those terms to talk to their mother about her growing belly. “After the delivery, my kids saw the parents with their baby, and understood the whole concept,” said Mathews. She didn’t even hold the newborn until the day after the baby was born.
Rs 31L
Amount Samantha Matthews is paid as a gestational surrogate
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