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Californian mum, Jessica Allen, thought she was carrying twins belonging to a Chinese couple who she agreed to be a surrogate for.

In December of last year, Ms Allen gave birth to two baby boys and handed them over to their parents.

It wasn’t until she saw a photo of the growing boys sometime later that she noticed something wasn’t right. Telling ABC News, Ms Allen noticed that one of the babies had distinctly Chinese features while the other did not.

“You know, obviously they were not identical twins,” she said.

Ms Allen and her husband, Wardell Jasper, later learned through DNA testing that one of the boys was biologically theirs. The couple then entered into a long and emotional legal battle to get their son back.

“I carried my own child and I didn’t know he was mine,” Allen told ABC News through tears.

The couple was finally granted custody of their little boy in February and they named him Malachi.

Superfetation is a medical phenomenon where a woman continues to ovulate after becoming pregnant. It’s extremely rare but in such cases fertilisation and implementation of a second embryo can result in two babies with different gestational ages, and in Ms Allen’s situation, two different sets of genetic parents.

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  • Did the Surrogate Mum notice any difference when the babies were born, wasn’t it obvious at that stage, or didn’t she really see both of them when they were born?

    Reply

  • Wow! An incredibly happy (for the mum) and sad (for the surrogate mum) story!

    Reply

  • This must have been a battle with an enormous emotional effect on all involved.

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  • I feel sad for the Chinese couple who lost child and their biological child lost a sibling.

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  • Whilst the situation is horrible for all involved, what a miracle to carry your own and someone else’s child at the same time.

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  • What a horrible situation for all involved.
    I can’t even begin to imagine how they felt

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  • Its such a horrible situation for everyone! I just don’t know how it wasn’t picked up so much sooner. They only implanted one embryo so they should have realized they weren’t identical when there was 2 placentas and figured it out then.

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  • Incredible! Luckily that they were still in contact with that family, or maybe they would have never found out. I’m glad they got their child back. What a relief!!

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  • A happy ending for all concerned.

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  • oh my how extraordinary – so nice to see that they have been reunited with their own child. I imagine it must be hard on the chinese parents who were probably loving to both children and then to have to give one up – must be heartbreaking

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  • I’m not against surrogacy, but I think it needs better regulation – in part because of stories like this.

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  • An amazing story that l didn’t think was possible.

    Reply

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