Mother Of Two Dies During Childbirth While Acting As A Surrogate

Last week, mother-of-two Michelle Reaves passed away from complications during childbirth while acting as a surrogate for another couple’s baby. Although the California mother passed away, the baby survived, according to a CNN report.

Michelle and her husband, Chris, have two children of their own, Gage and Monroe. After completing her family, Michelle decided to give the gift of life to another family through surrogacy. The pregnancy marked the second time that Michelle served as a surrogate for the couple.

The donations made to the family’s GoFundMe page — started by close family friend Jaime Herwehe — are meant to help cover the funeral costs for Michelle. The money raised will also help Michelle’s family get back on their feet as they recover from her sudden passing. At this time, the campaign has raised $58,662 of its $100,000 goal.

“Michelle has the best, most sarcastic, funny personality, and always had you laughing,” wrote Herwehe in the description of the family fundraiser. “Michelle and Chris have two beautiful kids, Gage and Monroe, who my heart breaks for, knowing they won’t grow old with their mama.”

“For those of you who didn’t have the pleasure of knowing Michelle, she will always be known for the love she had for her family,” wrote Herwehe. “No one deserves to lose their mama so young or the mother of their children.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly 700 women in the U.S. die during pregnancy, at delivery, or soon after delivery each year. The risk is about 23.8 deaths per 100,000 births, meaning that women in the U.S. are more likely than women in other developed countries to pass away due to pregnancy or birth complications.

The CDC believes that as many as half — or 350 per year — of the deaths are preventable. Such preventable causes include hemorrhage, severe high blood pressure, or infection. At this time, it isn’t clear what complications led to Michelle’s death, and the family has not commented publically about the situation.

“You hear about these things happening all of the time, but never in your life imagine it will happen to you,” wrote Herwehe on the family’s GoFund Me page.

Surrogacy is often a popular topic in news headlines.

Famously, Kim Kardashian added to her family with Kanye West through surrogacy after giving birth to her first two children and experiencing severe complications. The Inquisitr previously reported that Kim opened up about how serious the situation became when she gave birth to her oldest children, North and Saint. For the births of Kim and Kanye’s younger children, Chicago and Psalm, they opted to have two separate surrogates carry the embryos.