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Jessica Chastain is the latest celeb mom to use a surrogate

Actor Jessica Chastain and husband Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo reportedly welcomed a baby via surrogate. Here the two are pictured attending the Critics’ Choice Awards in January. (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for FIJI Water)
Actor Jessica Chastain and husband Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo reportedly welcomed a baby via surrogate. Here the two are pictured attending the Critics’ Choice Awards in January. (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for FIJI Water)

According to reports, Jessica Chastain and husband Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo recently welcomed their first child via surrogate. Though they have made no official announcement, the family have been spotted around New York City with a stroller and a baby carrier, according to the New York Post. The actress is one of many celebrity women who have used surrogates to grow their family, but that doesn’t mean all of them have gone that route for the same reason.

Chastain married fashion exec Passi de Preposulo in 2017. The Oscar nominee doesn’t speak openly about her private life, but she did make headlines earlier this year when she engaged in a debate about reproductive choice on Instagram.

The argument was sparked by an Instagram Chastain posted, where she’s pictured wearing a shirt that reads: “We should all be feminists.” In the comments, one woman reportedly said that feminists should “believe in God and stand up for The Unborn.”

Chastain responded, after donating $2000 to the woman’s GoFundMe. “@karinhschulz Yes you can decide what is right for you. I am pro-choice and I believe that everyone has the right to make their own decision” wrote Chastain. “I read about your journey to become a mother and it broke my heart. I hope that your dream will come true in 2018! Much love to you.”

It was unclear whether Chastain was simply feeling generous, or if she really identified with the other woman’s plight, but now — in the wake of her own baby — her comments have new meaning. If she did opt for a surrogate due to fertility issues, she would be far from alone.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 18,400 babies were born via gestational carrier from 1999-2013. And it’s clear, from Instagram and elsewhere, that celebrities are among them. Most recently, Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade celebrated the birth of their daughter Kaavia earlier this month via surrogate. Union has opened up about her failed attempts at in vitro fertilization as a result of her diagnosis of adenomyosis, a problem with uterine lining.

Kim Kardashian, who suffered from both preeclampsia and placenta accreta when carrying her first two children, also opted for a gestational carrier for her third child, Chicago. And Katey Sagal was already a mom of two, but wanted to have a baby with her third husband, Kurt Sutter. “I was too old to carry a child,” she said.

Of course, same-sex male couples also choose this route when they want to start a family that’s biologically related to them. “Surrogacy can be about science,” interior designer Nate Berkus told People in 2015 about the birth of his daughter. “It can be about money, or it can be about intention.”

One thing these famous parents do have in common, however, is the amount of money it costs to have another person carry a baby to term. The costs can range from $68,000-$147,000 according to SensibleSurrogacy.com. That’s just one reason it’s pretty clear none of these couples made this decision lightly.

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