Thousands raised for Penticton couple struggling to afford surrogacy after losing two babies

PENTICTON (NEWS 1130) – People across B.C. and Australia are trying to help a Penticton couple raise money for surrogacy after recently losing a baby, for a second time.

Scott, who is from Australia, and Jessica Tregoning were married in 2017 and got pregnant for the first time in 2018. But at 27 weeks, Jessica’s water broke. Three days after an emergency C-section, the baby, whom they named Paxon, passed away.

“That was a really tough time to get through,” Debi Battey, Jessica’s mother, tells NEWS 1130. “She had quite a time healing. She had an infection and poor kid really had a hard time.”

Devastated but determined to have a baby, the couple got pregnant a second time.

“And of course we were really happy but also really hesitant, you know, getting to that even 27, 28 week mark was stressful,” Battey says. “But once she got to 32 weeks, the doctor said, ‘You’re good now,’ because, you know, the baby is at a viable point that they’d be healthy even if they came a little earlier.”

The couple prepared by shopping for baby items and setting up a nursery. Family and friends even organized a surprise baby shower.

A C-section was scheduled for Sept. 18 but two weeks before that, tragedy struck.

“On Aug. 31 her husband called me crying and said, ‘It’s happening again.’ And my husband and I rushed to the hospital here and before we had even parked he called back and said they lost the baby. I couldn’t believe it,” recalls Battey.

“When we got there Scott was waiting and she was still asleep and he had to tell her when she woke up that they lost the baby.”

The family was told that the scar from Jessica’s emergency C-section in 2018 had ruptured and despite efforts by doctors, the baby, whom the couple named Matix, passed away. Doctors also told the family that Jessica had been minutes away from losing her own life as well.

“Jess is healing really nicely, her scars are healing really good this time so that’s a blessing,” says Battey. “But emotionally, of course — wow, it’s really, really hard to see your daughter go through that much pain. So hard.”

It’s too risky for Jessica to get pregnant again so the couple is now turning to surrogacy, which costs tens of thousands of dollars. It’s not covered by B.C.’s public health insurance, so Battey’s sister launched a GoFundMe page to help the couple, which is already close to reaching its goal of $30,000.

Someone has also already offered to carry a baby for the couple: Jessica’s best friend.

“We’re just so pleased that it’s going really well,” adds Battey.

Thursday was Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day, which is a day of remembrance for pregnancy loss and infant death, which includes miscarriage, stillbirth, SIDS, and the death of a newborn.

While talking about pregnancy loss has been historically taboo, that has been changing. Many women and couples shared their stories in recent weeks, after celebrity Chrissy Teigen suffered a miscarriage, which she revealed on social media.