Inside Hallmark Star Becca Tobin's Journey With Fertility Struggles
In 2022, "Glee" star Becca Tobin announced that she and her husband, entrepreneur Zach Martin, had welcomed a child via surrogate. "Rutherford 'Ford' Thomas Martin is here, and life is already so much sweeter," the actress wrote on Instagram. The news came as a surprise to those who didn't know that she had been trying to conceive for over five years.
Like many other women, Tobin waited until her early 30s to bring a child into this world. But, unfortunately, things don't always go as planned. After experiencing two miscarriages, the "LadyGang" co-host decided to freeze her embryos and, later, resorted to a surrogate mother.
Conceiving becomes more difficult as you get older, but you still have options. There's in-vitro fertilization (IVF), ovulation induction, intrauterine insemination, adoption, and more. Tobin and other stars, including Chrissy Teigen, Paris Hilton, Rebel Wilson, and Khloé Kardashian turned to surrogacy, a practice that's no longer taboo.
Becca Tobin has never made it past 14 weeks of pregnancy
About one in six people worldwide experience fertility issues, according to World Health Organization. This problem affects both men and women and can have a variety of causes, from aging and genetics to certain disorders. The risk is particularly high in women over 30, who are more prone to miscarriage and have a lower egg count than their younger peers. Additionally, egg quality diminishes with age, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Sadly, Becca Tobin wasn't aware of these facts in her younger years. "In my early 30s, I was having an ultrasound, and the doctor said, 'Oh my gosh, look at all those eggs,' so I had a false sense of confidence in my ability to make a baby," she confessed on the "LadyGang" podcast. Later, she went through two miscarriages — both within the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. Following these events, Tobin reached out to fertility specialist Said Daneshmand, who suggested she freeze her embryos.
This procedure requires fertilizing a woman's eggs with sperm in a lab and then storing the resulting embryos for later use. "Over 95% of embryos typically survive being frozen and thawed using vitrification," embryologist Sandy Christiansen told Harper's Bazaar. By comparison, egg freezing has a slightly lower success rate of around 90% and doesn't require sperm. With either procedure, the eggs or embryos can be transferred to the mother's womb or the womb of another person.
The Love at First Dance star is finally a mother
Hallmark star Becca Tobin told Yahoo! Life that her experience with embryo freezing was a positive one. But in order to have the embryos transferred to her uterus, she needed to take synthetic hormones. "I was at my breaking point," she confessed. The actress eventually decided to use a surrogate from Austin, Texas. "I wouldn't have forced myself to continue trying. I feel really good and confident that my baby got here the way he was supposed to."
In 2023, the "Turner & Hooch" star shared a video of her baby boy on Instagram. He looks happy and healthy, and his mother couldn't be more proud of him. Tobin also shared photos of herself and her son cuddling at home, playing in the garden, or enjoying the great outdoors.
Apart from that, she continues to focus on her career and take on new roles. Tobin is actually one of the Hallmark stars who left the network to join Great American (GAC) Family. In 2021, she starred in the GAC Family's "Christmas Is You," where she had a leading role. The actress also co-hosts the "LadyGang" podcast along with TV personality Keltie Knight and New York Times best-selling author Jac Vanek.