For women who’ve imagined being moms since they were children themselves, learning that they’ll never be able to live that dream is a harsh reality.
At least, this was the situation for Sharde, a five-year cancer survivor who’d always imagined having children with her husband, Jake. They refused to let cancer ruin their dreams of having a family, and turned to surrogacy as a viable alternative. That being said, this option still meant that Sharde would still miss out on the feelings that come with carrying her own children.
“I did always imagine that I would be pregnant,” Sharde says in a recent Huggies commercial. “Experiencing the kicks and the morning sickness or the different food cravings. But that didn’t happen…”
“To feel them and have them move inside of me and to feel them kick,” she added. “That’s something I’ll never experience…Genetically they’re mine but I just want that mother-daughter connection.”
And that was certainly true — until now. Huggies has recently created a piece of technology that actually allows moms to feel their babies kicking from inside their surrogates’ bellies.
The “Hugbelt” makes its official debut in the commercial that features Sharde, Jake and their surrogate Antoinette. You can watch the full video here. And fair warning: It will make you cry.
How the Hugbelt Works
According to the commercial, the Hugbelt comes with two bands.The first band goes around the surrogate’s belly to detect the movement of the babies inside the womb. The second band goes around the mother’s belly.
The signals from the surrogate’s band are then transferred to that of the mother to replicate — in real time — every kick and movement the babies made, and in the exact location where the babies made them.
Currently, Hugbelts aren’t available in stores. Huggies first developed the Hugbelt as a way to give a group of fathers the chance to feel what their pregnant partners felt. There are only a few of these belts in the world, and they travel with a team of technicians.
Sharde was the first mother to use the belt with a surrogate mother.
Since this video was recorded, Antoinette gave birth to Sharde’s healthy twin girls.
To read more about the Hug Belt and Sharde story, visit Huggies’ website.
