Shivangi Sinha
Netflix’s ‘A Child of My Own’ (originally titled ‘Un hijo propio’) tells a bizarre true story that began when a Mexican woman named Eleanor Alejandra Marin Mendoza could not get pregnant. In the midst of it all, she claimed that she had found another woman, Mayra Aurora Navarro Vega, who was ready to give her baby to her, but she did not disclose it to her family. She pretended as though she was carrying the baby herself, but when the due date arrived, things did not go as smoothly as she had hoped. Ultimately, Alejandra had to face the consequences of the choices she had made.
Alejandra Mendoza Said She Decided to Adopt a Child After Her Third Miscarriage
Eleanor Alejandra Marin Mendoza had always been someone who wanted a baby of her own. She was just 17 years old and pregnant with her first baby when she married Arturo Calderón Gamiño in 2000. The young couple was very much in love and ready to start their own family, but Alejandra lost the baby. When this happened for the second time, she was devastated and soon began doubting whether she would ever have her own baby. In the documentary, Alejandra said that her husband did not want to adopt a baby, and she allegedly felt pressure from her in-laws to keep trying. When she became pregnant for a third time in 2008, she felt hopeful that she would finally have her dream family completed.
Alejandra had been an employee at Ricardo Alejandro Noriega Ramírez in Mexico City, Mexico, where she held an administrative role. She continued going to work because she believed it would keep her occupied. One day, while she was at work, she suffered another miscarriage, but this time she waited before telling her family about it. In the documentary, Alejandra said that she allegedly met another woman, Mayra Aurora Navarro Vega, who was pregnant with her second baby at the same hospital. According to her, Mayra told her that she wanted to give up her baby for adoption, and the two allegedly came to an agreement that Alejandra would take the baby when it was born.
What followed was something unprecedented. Alejandra continued telling her family that she was pregnant. She said that she started eating a lot more and went from 54 kg to 89 kg. She even adjusted her medical records because she had access to the hospital’s system. She said that she used to get nauseous and feel as though she was actually carrying a baby. She was even able to get maternity leave approved after being checked at the same hospital. At her baby shower in 2009, friends and family gathered around her, and a clip shows Alejandra breaking into tears as they congratulated her. She said that she was under immense pressure and could not even fathom telling anyone the truth.
Alejandra Mendoza Served Her Sentence and is Living With Her Husband Today
On July 17, 2009, Alejandra told her husband, Arturo Calderón Gamiño, that she was going to the hospital for a checkup. That was the day she walked away with Mayra’s newborn, Katia Ventina, in a gift bag. Arturo maintained that he only found out about the situation when his wife handed him the stolen baby. He said that she told him about the alleged agreement she had made with Mayra, and to handle the situation, they decided to spend the night at the Hotel Hollywood in the Agrícola Oriental neighborhood. They were both arrested there that night, and Alejandra was charged with kidnapping.
In 2011, Alejandra’s trial began, and she maintained her defense that she had come to an agreement with Mayra about taking her child. She alleged that the biological mother had told her that she was going to Chihuahua, and she saw no other way but to take the baby from the hospital rather than let the child go to child services. However, the evidence presented contradicted her version of events. Mayra had not been treated at the hospital before giving birth, which made it impossible for Alejandra to have met her there before June 2009. Mayra also testified that Alejandra had approached her carrying what looked like survey papers before birth and asked her questions about her pregnancy. She said that she went to get her tests done, and when she returned, her baby was no longer there. The folder Alejandra was seen carrying in the hospital did contain what appeared to be survey papers.
Alejandra was convicted of kidnapping charges and sentenced to approximately 13 years behind bars. The doctors and experts who examined her, as discussed in the documentary, said that she had been psychologically affected by her three miscarriages and could have acted under immense stress. They said that it was likely she genuinely believed the version of events she had presented in her defense in court and had accepted it as her truth. Alejandra and Arturo remained married, and their relationship reportedly improved while she was in prison. She was released in 2023, after which Arturo had a son with another woman. He and Alejandra are still married, and she has a close relationship with her husband’s child. She has said that she does not want to try conceiving on her own and is trying to move on with her life in Mexico City, Mexico.
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