Surrogate Mom Carole Horlock Gave Away Baby Who Turned Out To Be Her Own Son

Carole Horlock gave birth to 13 babies as a surrogate mom, but there's one child she's hoping to meet one day because the boy is actually her and her husband's biological son.

In an exclusive with Daily Mirror, Horlock revealed that she did not realize that the baby she gave to a couple in June 2004, her ninth surrogacy, was biologically linked to her and Paul Horlock. She thought all along that the child was conceived using her egg and the sperm of the other man.

However, the couple who hired the surrogate mom had a DNA test six weeks after the birth, and that's when they learned that the baby had Paul's DNA. The Horlocks proposed to adopt the baby since he's their own son, but this led to their falling out with the other couple.

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The Darker Side of Surrogacy

In 2020, Carole was cited in the Guinness Book of World Records as the woman with the most number of surrogate births. She said that she loves her job because it has given families "immeasurable joy," yet she acknowledged that there's a "darker side" to this arrangement as well.

It was agonizing for her and Paul to find out about their biological son since he would have been their first baby together. Both Carole and Paul have other kids, now adults, from their previous marriages. It was even more agonizing when the couple who hired them called the surrogacy agency in anger over the DNA test.

While there are no set rules, women who work as surrogates are advised not to have intimate encounters with their partners so as not to affect the conception process. However, it was not the case for Carole and Paul, who found the suggestion unrealistic for a husband and wife. They claimed that they used contraception.

In the end, Paul said that they would take the baby only if the other couple did not want their son. Unfortunately for the Horlocks, the other couple decided to keep the child.

But Carole remains hopeful that she and Paul will meet their biological son sooner because he'll be 18 years old this 2022. Since Carole is on the Adoption Contact Register in the U.K., this will allow the boy to contact her if he has questions about his birth. Paul is also pushing 70 this year, which means he has a shorter time left on earth. Carole hopes their son will contact them before it's too late for Paul.

Surrogate Mom in her 50s

Meanwhile, Carole attempted another world record by becoming a surrogate mom at 52. Her last surrogacy was in 2013, but she could not turn down a childless British couple who asked for help online.

Her daughters from her first marriage both thought that she was "crazy and too old" to do this job, but after speaking to the couple who wanted her services, she decided to give pregnancy another go. This would be Carole's 16th pregnancy, after two daughters and 13 surrogate births. Given her age, she is also aware of the risks and chances, as she's practically a grandmother.

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