She Gave Birth, But What Came Out Of Her Surprised All The Doctors

A Real Life Love Story

Gianni, who moved to Boston from Italy on a student visa, was enrolled on a Nuclear Physics course at the time of meeting Rose. He was in his penultimate year and noticed Rose almost immediately. After only six months of dating, the pair felt the need to express their love further. Gianni proposed and Rose was ecstatic! They were ready to start the rest of their lives. The pair moved in together and had already discussed the idea of starting a family! However, the pair were dealt a portion of bad news from their fertility doctor.

A Real Life Love Story

IVF Or Bust

Rose had felt for some time that their might be an issue with her uterus. Her periods were often irregular and she felt it was best to get checked out before she and Gianni started trying for a baby. Unfortunately, she was right. Rose’s doctor informed her that her uterus was considered an inhospitable environment due to a hormone imbalance inside her body. Even though this was treatable now, the damage was already prevalent. It became clear that the pair wouldn’t be able to get pregnant naturally. Fortunately, the doctor continued to explain that with IVF they would have a very good chance of getting pregnant. The pair nodded in agreement from the first moment – they would begin IVF almost immediately.

IVF Or Bust

IVF Success

After completing the first round of IVF treatment, Gianni and Rose weren’t too hopeful. They were told not to expect so much, as it can often take a few attempts for IVF to actually work. With this in mind, you can imagine their complete shock when they received a prompt call from their IVF doctor telling them that blood tests showed that the IVF worked and she was pregnant! Rose sat in shock, eventually becoming elated when she fully realized what had happened. They were finally going to have a family! Gianni did begin to wonder how they were able to complete the process so quickly however…

IVF Success

Gianni Pondered

Maybe there had been a mistake? Were they sure that the process was completed that quickly? Eventually, he shrugged it off and joined Rose in her happiness. But who was to know that Gianni’s gut feeling was in fact correct…

Gianni Pondered

Genetic Testing

After months of a glowing pregnancy, Rose was on her way to one of her routine scans. These were very common and simply checked if the baby was doing ok inside the womb. Rose had considered herself very lucky up to this point, having had very little morning sickness or other pains. However, this time the appointment went anything but normal. Rose walked in with the doctor sat nervously at his desk. She noticed a brown envelope on the desk with a large red stamp saying ‘PRIVATE’, and noticed that he was twiddling his thumbs anxiously. Rose began to worry about the contents of the envelope.

Genetic Testing

The Brown Envelope

“What’s inside that?”, she asked. The doctor looked towards it anxiously. “Well…it seems as though there has been a huge problem, we can’t quite believe it and we don’t know how it happened”, he replied. “We couldn’t be more sorry”. Rose began to shake as she tried to anticipate what might have happened..

The Brown Envelope

The Bad News Was Worse Than Expected

“… it appears that the baby inside you.. isn’t yours”. Rose gasped. “Excuse me? What does that even mean”, she screamed with tears beginning to stream down her face. It was at this point that the doctor explained to her that from the genetic testing, they can see that the DNA of the baby doesn’t match that of either Rose or Gianni. She was confused, distraught and devastated. “Surely this is a joke, right? A sick, stupid joke”, she exclaimed. The doctor sat nervously, almost as if he didn’t know what to say. This was such an unusual situation, he didn’t know what the right answer would even be. “It seems that the wrong embryo was placed inside your uterus”. “This is genuinely so unlikely, I don’t even know how this could have happened”. Rose heard this weak answer and became enraged. She took out her phone and dialed Gianni.

The Bad News Was Worse Than Expected

A Terrible Phone Call

Gianni was sat in an interesting lecture on protons and electrons at the time of Rose’s urgent call. “Ciao, bella, what’s the matter?”, he asked, not realizing the true gravity of the situation quite yet. Rose promptly explained to Gianni what had happened at the doctor’s office. His face dropped almost instantly. Without a moment’s thought he grabbed his things and marched out of he lecture. He even heard his lecturer make a comment along the lines of ‘I guess I was boring him?’ on his exit. Gianni was enraged, but he had bigger fish to fry. He ran to his car and set the GPS to the doctor’s office. This doctor was about to feel the full impact of Gianni’s rage.

A Terrible Phone Call

Gianni Came To The Doctor’s Office

Gianna rushed in flabbergasted. He looked like he had seen death. “What do you mean it’s not our baby?!”, he exclaimed. “It’s inside of you, of course it’s ours!”. He was also crying and looked hurt. He was angry and the doctor looked sheepish. Having explained again how the genetic testing shows different DNA, Gianni became further enraged. “We will sue! You! The hospital! The government! Whoever was at fault for this will pay!”. Rose remained sat in disbelief at the whole situation. Who’s baby was inside her? She felt unwell and passed out from the stress of it all. Upon waking up, Rose could see that she was in an ambulance on the way to the hospital…

Gianni Came To The Doctor’s Office

The Baby Was Coming

“What’s going on?”, Rose asked the paramedic. “You’re in labor dear”, she replied. Rose became stressed suddenly. “But the baby isn’t supposed to come for another month!”. Not only was she just informed that the baby growing inside of her was in fact not hers, but now she was going to be giving birth prematurely. She was scared. “It will be okay amore mio“, Gianni told her. “Sooner or later, we will find out who’s baby this is”. Rose became increasingly nervous as the ambulance pulled up at the hospital.

The Baby Was Coming

Insurance First, Right?

Rose was wheeled straight down the corridor, while a woman gently pulled Gianni to the side. “Mr. Tarantino, I’m afraid I need to get some insurance details or we won’t be able to go much further with Rose”. “Are you insured?”. Gianni felt enraged that this was even relevant at this given moment. His fiancé was about to give birth! Who cares about insurance right now? Surely that can be sorted later. Despite his hesitations, he realized that he was far from the practices that are usual for this type of situation in Italy. This is America. Gianni sighed and told them all the details they needed.

“Now can I see Rose?”, he asked impatiently. The nurse nodded and brought him into 6B – the delivery room.

Insurance First, Right

A Traumatic Reunion

“Gianni! Where have you been!”, screamed an in-pain Rose. She looked horrendous, like she had just been shot. Having a child is never easy, but having one under this amount of stress prematurely must have been some of the worst circumstances imaginable. “I’m here bella, what can I do?”. It was too late though. The baby was coming right now!

A Traumatic Reunion

Rose Gave Birth

Having been rushed straight to the delivery room, it only took a few hours for the baby to finally reveal themself. It was a boy! A beautiful baby boy. Although there was one thing for certain, he was definitely not their child. Rose cried out loud. Gianni wept. How could this have happened? If another couple’s baby boy is here, what happened to their embryo? Is their baby currently out there growing inside somebody else? Well only a short while after the birth, a confused and shaken Gianni-and-Rose were visited by the director of Medicine for Boston hospitals.

“Rose.. Gianni.. I’m afraid we owe you a huge apology for everything you’ve been put through. But I have some news, I know where your baby is…”.

Rose Gave Birth

Gianni Was Stressed

This was all becoming too much for Gianni. It had been a whirlwind 24 hours. From having a lovely fiancé carrying their unborn child, he had found himself in a stressful position with his love giving birth prematurely to a baby that wasn’t his! It was at this moment Gianni wished he was back in his native Italy. It was a place he knew better, where weird things like this never happened. “Mama, where are you?”, he called out. He was hurt, confused.

“Gianni honey, I need you to focus. The doctor has news about the baby, our baby”, Rose said. He snapped out of it and turned towards the doctor. “So tell us”, Gianni said.

Gianni Was Stressed

Rose Was Worried Too

Rose has never seen Gianni like this. Usually he was as cool as a cucumber, composed and relaxed. There had never been a time in recent memory where she was the more collected of the two. She could understand the emotional toll this ordeal was having on him. Trust her, she felt it too. She held his hand and forced a smile. He looked to her endearingly and let out a calm breath. They were finally ready to mentally process what was about to come. So they thought…

Rose Was Worried Too

The Doctor Had News

“Let me start off by telling you both how sorry I am that this has happened to you. Never in all my years as a doctor have I ever seen something like this happen. I can’t imagine how upset you are”. The pair shrugged off this apology as ignorant. Saying sorry could never simply make up for their ordeal.

“But despite everything, I do have some news about your baby. Your biological baby”. Rose and Gianni’s eyes lit up with interest. So where was their child then?

The Doctor Had News

Rose Felt Bad

Rose felt conflicted when she was just told that there was news on her biological baby. What did this really mean? She had just carried a baby inside of her for almost a full pregnancy. How can she simply neglect this baby as not her own? They had shared food, nutrients. She had sang to him, looked after him. She already loved him. Who was to say this baby was not really hers? She was already beginning to wonder what would happen to him. Did he have parents out there? Biological parents that is. At this point Rose had already begun to consider him as her own son…

The doctor continued with his news.

Rose Felt Bad

There Was A Mix-Up

“…it appears that there was a terrible mix-up”, the doctor told them. “Your embryos were unfortunately swapped with a couple also from Boston. A Mr. and Mrs. Tataki”. Gianni stood confused. So did this mean that their baby was placed into this ‘Mrs Tataki’s’ uterus? There were still several unanswered questions that needed addressing.

There Was A Mix Up

Their Baby Might Be Out There

Rose was already shedding a few tears. There was a chance that their child was out there. But what about this boy? This son of Mr. and Mrs. Tataki. Were they the rightful parents? Or was it now Gianni and Rose’s duty to care for this child. She felt conflicted.

“So where is our baby?”, Gianni asked firmly. He wanted answers.

Their Baby Might Be Out There

Their Baby Was Real

“Your baby is out there. It was also implanted into Mrs. Tataki during the IVF process and it worked. However, as you are aware, you have given birth prematurely. Considering that Mrs. Tataki is also 8 months pregnant, she is yet to give birth”. “We only know all this as we have genetically tested all 40 other couples who were implanted with embryos on the same day as you. The Tataki family is the only match”.

So what now?

Their Baby Was Real

A Stab In The Back

Rose and Gianni’s child was being carried by someone else? Who was this person? Did they want their child back? Was it really their child? There were too many unusual, awkward questions to answer, and she didn’t know how. “Unfortunately, there are some legal issues with this case”, the doctor muttered.

“Unfortunately, we must act now. The child will be taken into social services immediately.”. Rose felt like she had been stabbed. She was broken. She was not going to let this happen.

A Stab In The Back

A Legal Battle Ensued

Rose and Gianni informed the medical team that they could not simply take their baby. Rose had carried him for nearly 9 months and as far as they were concerned, they weren’t ready to simply hand him over to someone else. It became apparent there were two individuals they needed to speak to, urgently. Mr. and Mrs. Tataki. “Do you have the contact information for the Tatakis?”, Rose asked begrudgingly. “I do, but there is a slight issue”, he responded…

A Legal Battle Ensued

A Trip To Japan

The doctor finished explaining. To cut a long story short, the Tatakis were ecstatic over the success of their IVF treatment and had decided to return to Japan so that all their family could be around for the birth. This complicated things slightly. Being 8 months pregnant, Mrs. Tataki would be in no condition to fly anywhere, so their baby was going to be born in Japan. Gianni and Rose knew they had only one option at this point. They were going to Japan.

A Trip To Japan

Booking The Flights

Gianni and Rose knew that time was of the essence, they had to speak to Mr and Mrs Tataki right now. Gianni rushed to his laptop and searched for the next flight to Japan. Being from Boston, the pair knew that it wouldn’t be an easy route to Japan. Fortunately, the Tatakis resided not too far from main-hub Tokyo, in neighboring city Kawasaki. Gianni looked and found a route that would take them from Boston Logon International Airport to Narita International Airport (Tokyo), but the flight left in 2 hours. “Lets do it”, Gianni said.

Booking The Flights

Rushing To The Airport

Considering the airport was a 20 minute drive, it was going to be tight. Clothes and toiletries could be bought in Japan, but they needed their passports. Gianni sped down the main roads from the hospital to their home. It only took him 5 minutes! Wow, that really wasn’t good driving… Nevertheless, Gianni and Rose ran inside the house and grabbed all the essentials, namely the passports. Now it was time to head back into the car and race to the airport. Rose dialed her mother so they could tell her what was going on… and that they were on their way to Japan!

Rushing To The Airport

Traffic

Of course, being a main city, Boston has a huge traffic problem at times. This was one of them. Sat at a red light Gianni was honking at the cars in front, shouting all sorts in Italian. Rose let him go on with it, knowing he was just frustrated at the whole situation. Gianni pulled into the bus lane and sped away. They finally arrived at the airport, despite the knowledge that they would be having several speeding tickets coming their way. They had 60 minutes until the flight departed.

Traffic

Airport Security

Having prepared in the car, Rose knew that their gate was 15. Luckily, they didn’t need to wait at any check-in counter because they had checked in on their mobile phones. Technology, hey! However, they did have the obstacle that is known as airport security check, something the US is very strict about.

Airport Security

Speedy Security

Upon arriving at airport security, a panicked Gianni broke down in tears. The TSA agent came up to him and asked him what the issue was. Gianni sadly explained the whole situation to this officer, telling him how important it was for them to get to Japan. This TSA agent was extremely sympathetic, telling Gianni he had conceived a child with his wife not long ago via IVF also. He took them aside and did what they call a ‘speedy check’. In essence, they skip the queue by being taken for randomly selected immersive scanning. Gianni told him ‘Grazie mille sir’. Now through security, the pair ran to the gate.

Speedy Security

A Race Against Time

As they ran through the large departure lounge, they could hear being announced ‘Final call for flight JL7 to Narita (Tokyo)’. Their gate was in reach, they could see it in the distance. Finally they arrived just in time to be the final two passengers to board the plane. Some luck. They boarded the plane and were ready for the 13 hour direct flight to Japan. They were coming for their baby.

A Race Against Time

The Longest Flight

Even though they knew that the flight was going to be a long 13 hours, wow did it feel like so much longer. The young couple waited anxiously for the plane to land. They sat with the knowledge that during the journey, there was nothing at all they could do. Things were only going to happen once they landed in Japan. Gianni tried to watch airplane TV but couldn’t focus. Rose sat pondering out the window, tearing up a little. “Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to begin our descent, we will be at Narita Airport in 20 minutes”. Rose’s heart sank.

The Longest Flight

Landing In Tokyo

The plane finally landed on the runway, Gianni and Rose couldn’t believe it, they were in Japan! It had always been a dream of theirs to visit Japan, but not in these circumstances. Rose took a deep sigh as she indicated to Gianni to leave the plane. She couldn’t even think about how much the tickets were for this flight. She could assume that they might be in some debt for a while. Curiosity got the better of her though, “How much were the tickets Gianni?”, Rose asked.

Landing In Tokyo

Expensive Tickets

“There was no choice bella, I took whatever was there”, Gianni replied. She gave him an awkward look. She knew he beat around the bush whenever he didn’t want to tell her something. Gianni sighed. “Last second, flights are always expensive. These tickets cost $4000”. Rose sighed uncomfortably. “I mean it could’ve been worse, $4000 for two tickets isn’t so bad”. Gianni gulped. “No bella, it was $4000 each”. Rose teared up, this baby was going to be the life of her! Still, she refocused on finding the Tatakis, she wanted her baby.

Expensive Tickets

Leaving The Airport

Considering the 14 hour time difference, Gianni and Rose were naturally feeling somewhat discombobulated. They didn’t know whether it was morning, evening, night or day. Looking at his phone, Gianni could see that it was almost 4pm in Tokyo. The Tatakis should be available. It only took 5 minutes to leave the airport, security didn’t take long at all. They also had no baggage. Upon leaving the airport, Gianni hailed the first taxi he saw and told him, “To Kawasaki please!”. They departed for the city.

Leaving The Airport

A 20 Minute Ride

It turned out that it was only a 24km distance from Tokyo to Kawasaki, which would take around 25 minutes. Gianni looked up the address that was given to them by the Director of Medicine back in Boston, it shouldn’t be so difficult to find. Something that eased Rose and Gianni’s concerns slightly, was that the Tatakis were in fact expecting them. Whether they would be received with hostility or kindness was yet to be seen, but the fact that they were willing to meet them was a good feeling. The car pulled up, they had arrived.

A 20 Minute Ride

Finding The House

According to the doctor’s details, the house number was 29. They think they had found it, but the signage was hard to read. They took a leap of faith and rang the doorbell. They hoped this was the right place.

Finding The House

A Rude Greeting

After a minute of waiting, the door opened. A small elderly woman opened the door, looking Rose and Gianni up and down. She pulled a face of confusion and muttered some Japanese to them that they could not understand. “We’re here to see Mr. and Mrs. Tataki?”, Rose spoke. The small elderly woman looked up, still emotionless. Suddenly she yelled some words in Japanese through the house. She then turned and indicated to the pair to follow. It seemed as though this was the right place.

A Rude Greeting

Meeting Mr. Tataki

“Konnichiwa, welcome”, a man said to Rose and Gianni. They assumed this to be Mr. Tataki. Not only was his English at a very high level, but his accent sounded a little Boston-y. “What should I call you? What are your surnames?”, he asked. “You can call us the Maldinis”, Gianni replied. This was the first time Rose had ever heard him say that. It became surreal that they were going to be married soon. She would become Rose Maldini. She quickly refocused on the task at hand, the baby.

Meeting Mr. Tataki

Where Was Mrs. Tataki?

“I hope the flight wasn’t too bad”, Mr. Tataki said. Gianni explained how it wasn’t so bad, they were just happy to be here so that they could sort this whole situation out. “So where is Mrs. Tataki?”, Rose asked politely. Mr. Tataki turned to look at her and smiled. “She is taking what the Americans call an afternoon siesta“, he said laughing. “She will join us shortly”. “In the meantime, would you like a tea?”, he asked. Rose accepted.

Where Was Mrs. Tataki?

Anxious Small Talk

Gianni and Mr. Tataki made small talk, while Rose sipped anxiously on her tea. They had discovered that Mr. Tataki’s first name was Shinji, and the family had been based in Boston for nearly 10 years, pursuing PhDs. It turned out that Shinji and Mrs. Tataki had met during orientation at college ten years ago, fell in love and stayed in Boston permanently. It was only after marriage and years of trying for a baby that they turned to IVF. After becoming pregnant, they decided to move back to Japan so that their child could grow up around family. Rose suddenly heard noise coming from the stairs.

Anxious Small Talk

Mrs. Tataki Joined

“Ah, that must be Akari”, Shinji said. Mrs. Tataki, or Akari, entered the room and seemed exhausted. She was huge. To be fair, anyone around 8 months pregnant would expect to be that size. “It’s so nice to meet you”, Rose said. “Despite the circumstances”, she added, a little more glumly. “Ah yes”, Akari replied. “We must sort this mess out shouldn’t we”. “Let me just get a cup of tea, then we will sit and discuss it all”. Rose and Gianni waited nervously.

Mrs. Tataki Joined

An Anxious Moment

Rose and Gianni sat across from the Tatakis hesitantly. They had no idea how the conversation was going to go. Did they see the child growing inside Akari as their own? Or did they realize that the child was rightfully Rose and Gianni’s. And what about the poor child left in foster care in Boston. There were many unanswered questions that needed addressing. Gianni spoke first.

An Anxious Moment

Discussion

“Look there’s no easy way to say this”, he started. “There are two babies, both placed inside the wrong uterus”. “Simply enough, Rose carried your baby and he is currently in foster care in Boston. Akari has carried our baby and she/he is in he womb”. Shinji and Akari sat emotionless, it couldn’t be seen whether they were shocked or impressed with Gianni’s directness. “Mr. Maldini…”, Shinji began.

Discussion

Agreement

“… we are inclined to agree with you”, Shinji responded. “This was clearly an unfortunate error from the American doctors, but the baby Akari is carrying right now is yours. Our son was carried by Rose and is currently in Boston”. “We have already started legal proceedings, and have made arrangements for young Eiji to be brought to us here in Japan”. Rose was shocked, she felt so out of the loop. And they had already named their son? Wow. “You should wait here for a couple of weeks, at which point you can take your daughter with you back to Boston”. Gianni exhaled a sigh of relief. He smiled at Rose and she smiled back.

[This story is a work of fiction intended solely for entertainment purposes. The characters and events are the product of the author’s imagination. The photos used are for illustration purposes only.]

Agreement