Woman Demanding to Touch Her Surrogate's Baby Bump Dragged: 'Their Baby'

A couple having a baby through a surrogate has sparked outrage online after berating the woman for not letting them rub her belly.

In a post shared on Reddit in December, under the username u/Dangerous_South_9178, the surrogate mother explained that, while for the first six months of her pregnancy, everything was "smooth" with the couple, they are now demanding to touch her abdomen, and she's very much not comfortable with their request.

The surrogate mom wrote: "Even when I was pregnant with my daughter I could not stand people touching my stomach. I don't understand the obsession with people touching pregnant bellies but it bothers me when people try to do it."

According to Fertility Center Las Vegas, the price of U.S. surrogacy often ranges from $110,000 to $170,000 for most families, and it usually includes agency fees and surrogate compensation, as well as expenses, legal fees and medical costs at a fertility clinic.

The surrogate mom added that the couple was fully able to have children of their own, but because the wife is a personal trainer and didn't want to risk her career, they decided to go for a surrogate instead.

During a doctor's visit that the wife attended as per the contract, she reached over to touch the surrogate's belly, and when this was kindly declined, the wife snapped, telling her that it's "her baby she should be able to feel her kick."

At this point, the surrogate said that it's her body, and if the wife wanted to be able to have the full sensorial experience, then she should have had the baby herself. Since then, the surrogate has been receiving angry calls from the couple, who said they simply wanted to bond with "their baby."

Marriage and family therapist based in Pennsylvania, Rabia Khara, told Newsweek that the couple does not have a right to the surrogate's body.

She said: "The surrogate can choose to allow them to be part of the process if two factors are not at play, physiological and psychological. From a physiological perspective, the surrogate may be experiencing hormonal changes, discomfort, and touch sensitivity, which may be exacerbated by factor two, the psychological underpinnings.

"The latter would mean she is being protective of the baby that she is carrying, coupled with the knowledge that the biological parents chose to not let their lives and the biological mother's career be disrupted by a pregnancy. The surrogate is exercising her autonomy, despite the fact that she is carrying someone else's child."

According to Khara, because the baby is still in an embryonic sac and not born yet, technically the couple is touching the woman's body and not the baby. So, if the surrogate wants to be protective of her body, she has every right to do so, unless there is an understanding between the biological mom and surrogate.

The Reddit post has since gone viral on the platform, receiving more than 6,400 upvotes and 1,300 comments so far.

One user, No-Wallaby2072, commented: "Just because your carrying the baby doesn't give them a right to touch you without permission."

Redditor ThanksIllustrious104 wrote: "She's not just 'carrying the baby', her body is growing the fetus and giving it life - something the biological mother chose not to do because she didn't want to be inconvenienced for the duration of the baby's gestation. She sounds a tad selfish and self-centered."

Fiona_Comprehensive added: "Once it's born, they have all the time in the world to bond. Until that moment, they're not touching the baby, they're touching you."

Newsweek reached out to u/Dangerous_South_9178 for comment. We could not verify the details of the case.