Emotional status of surrogate mothers

The Assisted reproductive technology (ART)  considers the involvement of surrogate mothers as a third party. This is highly controversial; however a widespread method. The emotional motivation differs from every individual surrogate mother, which drives them to become a surrogate. The different motivational drives are financial gain, the pleasure of pregnancy and giving birth, sublime feelings, and the satisfaction of helping others.

Research studies reported one of the primary motivation for surrogate mother is to help the couple who are unable to have offspring by any other method. In such cases, surrogate mothers feel to accomplish a great noble job, which helps to provide them an emotional strength to maintain the distance from the newborn baby to whom she gave birth.

Surrogate mother emotions

It is quite normal that a surrogate mother stays attached to the baby which she carries for the whole gestational period. The surrogate mother mentally prepares herself for this emotional trauma after signing the contract with the intended parents.

Research findings also reported that the surrogate mothers prepare themselves to detach from their fetus mentally to assume that is not theirs. They maintain a distance from the fetus. Therefore, the surrogate mother does not feel any dissatisfaction to give the child to the intended parents. In rare cases, if any surrogate mother experiences psychological problems then they can overcome them gradually.

A surrogate mother may experience mild depression, which may not develop immediately after giving the child, but appear even after 1 year. In such cases, she makes herself realize that her work is novel, as she helps to build a family for an infertile couple.

A surrogate mother does not have any major psychological issues in commercial surrogacy. Usually, no major relationship conflict develops between the surrogate mother and intended parents after paying off the compensation. In most cases, intended parents do not want to maintain any relationship with an unknown surrogate mother.

But some intended couples and surrogate mothers maintain contact even after childbirth. However, in such cases, no legal contracts are made between them. This attachment is completely based on an emotional relationship, build-up between intended parents and surrogate mothers during the child’s birth.

The surrogate mothers may be known or unknown to the intended parents. People usually prefer to opt for an unknown surrogate to minimize the fear of revealing the fact in front of family or society.

It has been assumed that the scope of development of emotional attachment is more in the case of the biological surrogate mother, who has a direct genetic relationship with the child. In such cases, the child may have a relationship with the surrogate mother due to building up a family relationship, but usually unknown about the fact of genetic relationship.

Overall, surrogate mothers receive surrogacy as a positive experience. Surrogate mothers typically have an embark assessment upon surrogacy and often they believe that without their help an incomplete family can never become complete. They help an infertile couple who otherwise unable to become parents.

Therefore, the whole society should be grateful to the surrogate mothers who do this novel job, even after some psychological problems that they experience following childbirth.

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