A 24-year-old woman agreed to be a surrogate for her good friends. Things started out great, until the family of the baby started insisting on rubbing the surrogate’s belly — even after the surrogate asked them not to.
The woman, who is six months pregnant, asked the Reddit community if she’s in the wrong for not wanting to be touched without her permission.
Everything started just fine.
"So I (24f) am currently 6 months pregnant as a surrogate for a family," the original poster (OP) began. "Everything has been smooth sailing for the most part throughout this process other than one thing. 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."
The family insists on experiencing the baby kicking.
“Anyways the family I’m surrogating for has asked multiple times if they can touch my stomach or rub it and feel the baby move and kick. The wife stating that she’s always wanted to experience feeling the kicking and moving baby.”
Then OP dropped some interesting information.
The family chose surrogacy as an option, but the mom of the baby is able to conceive naturally.
"Now for context she can fully have children of her own this surrogacy is a choice they made so as not to interfere with her career by being pregnant," OP explained. "She has a physically demanding job and doesn’t want to risk anything happening to the baby or her career. (She’s a personal trainer). They have been constantly asking me to touch my stomach and I always politely decline as it is uncomfortable for me."
The mother of the baby ignored her request, and things got ugly.
Despite making her request clear, the family still attempted to touch her without consent.
"Well while me and wife were at a baby appointment last week she reached over and rubbed my stomach while talking to the doctor," OP continued. "I kindly asked her to stop touching my stomach and she snapped at me and said I was ruining the experience for her and it’s her baby she should be able to feel her kick."
The surrogate wasn’t letting her get away with it.
“I snapped back and said that it may be her baby but it’s my body and that if she really wanted to feel her baby kick she should’ve gotten pregnant herself.”
OP added that she’s received calls from the family of the wife, calling her wrong for “yelling at her for [bonding] with her child.”
The internet was basically unanimous.
The top comment, with over 13,600 “upvotes,” read: “Just because your carrying the baby doesn't give them a right to touch you without permission.”
Another commenter told OP that she’s not in the wrong “for not wanting your belly touched. 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.”
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