Meghan Trainor Explains Why She Used A Surrogate For Her Baby After Being Judged For Skin-To-Skin Photo
DFree | Shutterstock On January 18, pop star Meghan Trainor announced that she and her husband, actor Daryl Sabara, had welcomed their third child via surrogate. Unfortunately, her announcement drew as much criticism as congratulations.
What should have been a happy moment for the family was almost immediately overshadowed by haters criticizing the way they chose to have the baby. Trainor shared several photos of herself from the hospital shortly after the birth that featured her holding her baby girl named Mikey Moon for some skin-to-skin contact. People across the internet erupted in outrage that Trainor would hold her baby skin-to-skin when she wasn’t the one who gave birth.
The entire situation shed light on just how toxic societal pressure can be towards mothers, especially moms who don't become parents in what is considered a traditional way.
People criticized Meghan Trainor for using a surrogate for her third child.
Shortly after the announcement, BuzzFeed published an opinion piece that slammed the couple for using a surrogate. Due to the extreme backlash it received, the article seems to have been edited to only include the facts, but a quote from the original article remained on the outlet’s Threads account.
“The concept of a rich woman buying a poor woman’s womb then holding the baby in her arms and crying as if she had given birth herself,” it read. “Nobody can convince me that this isn’t diabolical.”
Similar opinions could be found on X. One user posted, “We really need to have a conversation about how surrogacy is exploitation by rich people.”
Another user expressed similar sentiments, saying, “Naked and crying as if she birthed that baby herself, renting another woman’s womb is a [expletive] disgrace. Shame on her.”
Trainor explained her reasoning for using a surrogate.
In the caption on her Instagram post, she wrote, “We had endless conversations with our doctors in this journey and this was the safest way for us to be able to continue growing our family.” She echoed the same thoughts in an exclusive interview she gave to People Magazine. While she admitted “it wasn’t our first choice,” she also said she was "forever grateful for that option.”
Trainor and Sabara are already parents to 4-year-old Riley and 2-year-old Barry, both of whom she carried. “I want people to know that surrogacy is just another beautiful way to build a family,” she said. “It’s not something to whisper about or judge … Every family’s journey looks different, and all of them are extremely valid.”
DFree | Shutterstock
Trainor kept her surrogate anonymous, but gave her high praise. “Our surrogate is one of the most selfless, strong, and loving people I’ve ever met,” she said. “We felt so connected throughout the entire journey, and I’ll always be grateful for the care and love she showed our daughter.”
Women aren’t exploited for being surrogates when they choose to do so on their own.
There is a high price to surrogacy, which could be why some people have a problem with it. Stephanie Levich, the founder and president of Family Match Consulting, said all of the different fees involved can add up to about $125,000 to $175,000. However, the surrogate herself gets a decent chunk of that money and makes the choice to go through this journey of her own free will, so it doesn’t really seem accurate to call it exploitation.
One woman named Johanna, known as @modern.day.stork on TikTok, said that she has been a surrogate mother twice now. Her decision was inspired by the miscarriage she had shortly after she married her husband. They had another baby later, and she thought about how traumatic the miscarriage had been and how she hated that other people had to go through that.
“I just wanted to help, and my paths crossed with somebody who was a surrogate,” she said. “So she has pretty much guided me through the process.”
Stories like Johanna’s prove that surrogacy is far from unethical or exploitative. Some couples simply aren’t able to have children on their own, and there are amazing women out there who choose to step in and help. There’s nothing wrong with that.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
