YESSENIA has been accused of selling her own child. The 27-year-old mother-of-three decided to become a surrogate after she experienced a miscarriage. Yessenia said: “It changed my life forever. It ended up leading me to surrogacy so I could help other people have children.” Yessenia has three children - Tyson, Trey Jr. and Tamir with husband Trey. She said: “I was really nervous about talking to my husband about surrogacy. It was something I really wanted to do, but I know there's a lot of stigma around the subject.” However, her husband was supportive from day one. Yessenia decided to share her surrogacy journey online to help other women going through or even considering going through the process but was shocked to get extremely judgemental comments as well as congratulatory ones. She said: “I have got a lot of hate online that I never really expected from sharing my journey.” Trolls online accused her of ‘selling’ her own child, that the child was hers and said she was ‘selling’ herself and her body. She added: “I think a lot of people think surrogacy is a get rich quick scheme. But it's not that at all.” Yessenia hopes to be a surrogate again in the future and has felt encouraged by how many people she has guided through the process as well as her favourite moment of the process - seeing the baby in the intended parents’ arms for the first time. Yessenia reflected on her journey and said: “I felt so proud of what I did.”
Social Media Links:
Follow Yessenia on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mamayessenia
Social Media Links:
Follow Yessenia on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mamayessenia
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00I've been accused of selling my child. I was paid $50,000 to be a surrogate.
00:05I have got a lot of hate online that I never really expected.
00:10Keep selling yourself. The baby is still yours.
00:13It's like a superpower. It's carrying eggs in your belly.
00:17How'd you feel during the pregnancy?
00:20Well, I mean...
00:25This is Tamir. He's eight weeks old.
00:29We're gonna go outside and meet his big brothers and ride around.
00:33Just gotta make sure we're all nice and cuddly first.
00:36My name is Yesenia LaTorre and I am a mother of three. Tyson is six years old.
00:43Trey is five years old. And Tamir is eight weeks old.
00:48And something really cool is the surrogate baby was also a boy.
00:51So I've only had boys.
00:53In between my pregnancies with Tyson and Trey, I experienced a miscarriage
00:58and it changed my life forever.
01:01What ended up leading me to surrogacy so I could help other people have children.
01:09Egg donation was something that I was really interested in.
01:12But I kind of did the egg donation because I was too nervous to do surrogacy yet.
01:18I started doing a lot of research about surrogacy.
01:22Initially, I was really nervous about talking to my husband about surrogacy.
01:26It was something I really wanted to do.
01:28But I know there's a lot of stigma around the subject.
01:34I didn't really have an understanding of surrogacy before the process.
01:37I think I was like most people, like I've heard the term surrogacy.
01:41But I didn't know what all it entailed.
01:45Good throw.
01:46I wasn't that shocked because she was already like an egg donor.
01:51And she was already into that realm.
01:54I was always supportive from day one because
01:57Jesenia has always supported me in everything I've done.
02:00And so naturally, like, I support her as well.
02:04I was a little bit concerned about all of the medical things that she would have to go through.
02:08But I was like, I'm going to do this.
02:09I'm going to do this.
02:10I'm going to do this.
02:11I'm going to do this.
02:12I'm going to do this.
02:13I'm going to do this.
02:14I'm going to do this.
02:14I was there for moral support.
02:28I ultimately decided to choose gestational surrogacy
02:31because I would be carrying a baby that was not related to me.
02:36My journey was amazing.
02:38Honestly, I met amazing intended parents.
02:42They treated me well.
02:44The pregnancy was actually easier than the pregnancy with my children.
02:51What's your favorite thing to do with your parents?
02:53Uh, ride my bikes.
02:58Riding bikes, yeah.
02:59I'm playing basketball.
03:01How did you explain your surrogacy to your children?
03:04Since they were so young when I started the process, I kept it very simple.
03:08So I would always tell them, like, mommy's having a baby,
03:12but it is not mommy and daddy's baby.
03:14They had the chance to meet the family,
03:17so it made it a lot easier to explain, like, this is his mom and this is his dad.
03:22Who's that?
03:24It's not you, silly.
03:25It's me.
03:26You remember him?
03:27No.
03:29I don't think you would, huh?
03:30Yes, I did remember him.
03:32You do?
03:33Yeah.
03:35I do not.
03:35He was in your surrogate belly.
03:38In my surrogate belly?
03:39Yeah.
03:40And he lives with his mommy and daddy.
03:43Yeah, I saw his cats and dogs.
03:45Were you worried that you being a surrogate could confuse the kids at all?
03:49I personally wasn't really worried, but my husband was worried.
03:54Always asking, like, what would the kids think?
03:56Would they be upset?
03:57But ultimately, they were very nonchalant about it.
04:04Are you guys glad that your mom was able to help someone like that?
04:08It's like a superpower, just carrying eggs in your belly.
04:15These are some of my maternity clothes that I wore for my surrogacy,
04:20and I just keep them for the future.
04:23Do you plan to do it again in the future?
04:25Whenever I'm done breastfeeding, I hope to do it again and change another family's life.
04:30So I initially started to share my surrogacy journey online
04:34really because I wanted to help other women going through the process.
04:38Hoping just to help one person, but I've been grateful to help a lot of people on the way.
04:47I have got a lot of hate online that I never really expected
04:52from sharing my journey.
04:53Things I hate hearing as a surrogate.
04:56This is one of my videos.
04:57You sold your kid.
04:58That's not normal.
04:59A lot of people compare surrogacy to human trafficking,
05:02and I just don't understand it.
05:05I rented out my womb, okay?
05:07I was a landlord until eviction occurred.
05:10I don't like when people talk about saying that I rented out my womb.
05:15I don't feel as if I rented out my body in any way.
05:20I think egg donation is crazy.
05:21You have a whole child out there and don't keep it.
05:24It's just mad.
05:25So egg donation is a little bit of a different topic.
05:28Um, but ultimately I don't see the egg donation child as being my baby.
05:34No matter the amounts of money been paid to you, the baby is still yours.
05:39Never work.
05:40Keep selling yourself.
05:42This is a funny comment because actually most surrogates have full-time jobs.
05:46You must be getting paid a lot.
05:48That's what people say to me all the time.
05:50They assume I'm getting a hundred thousand dollars.
05:53So I think a lot of people think surrogacy is a get-rich-quick scheme, but it's not that at all.
06:00So I was paid $40,000 in base compensation and around $5,000 to $10,000 in additional benefits.
06:07A lot of people think money is the main motivation for surrogacy,
06:12but ultimately it was 18 months of my life.
06:16I had to give birth.
06:17I had to take IVF medications.
06:19I tell people all the time, I only got $4 an hour.
06:23All right, take a jibble first.
06:24Take a jibble first.
06:31What was your understanding of surrogacy before, um, before this process started?
06:36Well, when I first heard about it, I mean, I thought it was a, you know,
06:40it was a great thing to be a part of.
06:42But I think your reaction is probably the best that we could hope for,
06:46you know, when you're, when you're telling your family about it.
06:49One thing that stood out with me though, with you,
06:53uh, I didn't know how that was going to affect, you know, my other grandbabies.
06:58Right.
06:59So internally I felt a concern and I also felt a connection.
07:05Yeah, I think everybody were concerned about our kids to feel like,
07:10The connection.
07:11How would the kids feel?
07:13Right.
07:13Would the kids be sad?
07:15Um, would they think that it's their sibling?
07:17They were very nonchalant about it.
07:19And they're just like, okay, mommy's doing this.
07:21How did you feel during the, during the pregnancy?
07:24Well, I mean, just like any grandfather, you know,
07:27I was just hoping the baby would be healthy.
07:29How would you describe your relationship with the surrogate baby?
07:32Well, I felt an instant connection, you know, that's, that's what I felt, you know,
07:38but, uh, I didn't allow myself, you know, to become too attached
07:43because I knew what the process was going to be.
07:45That's not a traditional process.
07:48Yeah.
07:48So we're not, you know, conditioned for that.
07:50But now that we're in that age, you know, it's acceptable, you know,
07:54because we understand now that process, you know,
07:57brings happiness, joy and continuation of life.
08:01Hey guys.
08:02So welcome to my series.
08:04I'm going to be doing a series on all the steps to become a surrogate.
08:07So I hope you guys stay tuned for all of my videos.
08:10A lot of people do respond positively to it.
08:13And it kind of encourages other women to want to take this step.
08:18I know for a fact that I've helped more than 50 women
08:21complete the process and guide them through it as well.
08:25The thing that I love the most about the process
08:27was seeing the baby in his parents' arms for the first time.
08:31I felt so proud of what I did.
08:35We're just super happy to come from a loving family
08:38and we're looking forward to the future.