Altruism or earning: motivations of surrogate mothers

Headnote

Key words: Altruism, Earning, Motivations, Surrogate Mothers.

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Introduction: Surrogate motherhood represents an increasingly common method of human reproduction which helps overcome successfully the obstacles of infertility. Altruistic surrogacy refers to cases that the surrogate mother is motivated by care or concern for an infertile couple but she is not paid. Commercial surrogacy is usually arranged through an agency and the surrogate mother is paid a fee. Although both forms of surrogacy are morally controversial, the dominant view is that altruistic surrogacy is morally superior or at least less problematic. The aim of this study was therefore motivations of surrogate mothers.

Materials and Methods: This was a qualitative, phenomenological study. We selected 8 surrogate mothers in Isfahan. We used convenient sampling method and in-depth interview for collection of information. Data analysis was done via Colaizzi seven- stage method.

Results: Findings of these interviews were classified in two main concepts: Altruistic motivation (valuable gift to another person or couple) and financial motivation (being unemployed wife, the high cost of living).

Conclusion: Many women who become surrogate mothers state that their motivation in doing so is to contribute the unique and valuable gift of parenthood. Various studies of the motives of paid surrogate mothers have shown that contrary to popular belief about money as a prime motive, women say that they choose to bear children for others primarily for altruistic reasons. It is recommended for the prevention of social consequences and the abuse of women as a goods, surrogate mothers receive professional counseling before pregnancy.