Hyderabad: Even as a furore is being raised about the legitimacy of the Kiran Fertility Centre, the surrogate mothers who have been housed on the third and fourth floors of the centre have stated that they had willingly opted to become surrogate mothers.
Most of the surrogate mothers are from districts of Telangana state and its outskirts, Andhra Pradesh, North East and Delhi. All the women are in the age group of 20 to 35 years and all of them are mothers with children of their own. Some of the women have earlier worked in factories, housekeeping sections in offices and also as maids at homes.
All of them allowed their bodies to be used for motherhood because they wanted the substantial money they would earn from the surrogacy for their own children’s future.
The 48 women live together in one room and have their food together. There is an ayah who monitors their activities. They are made to walk and also do minimum physical activity but only on the floor. All the surrogate mothers at the centre claim that they are taken care of very well and all the medical treatment is properly provided to them.
A surrogate mother on condition of anonymity said, “I am a divorcee and require money for my son’s education.
“This huge amount will help me provide for his education. I was into housekeeping in the commercial sector but the money was not enough.”
Some of the women have been brought to the centre through agents, while others have come through recommendations provided by women who had been surrogate mothers themselves. Before leaving home, the women tell their families that they are going to other cities to work. Their interaction with their family members is limited.
The interaction of the surrogate mother with the commissioning mother is barely there during the early pregnancy months, but they are allowed to meet them in the last trimester. The emotional and psychological burden that the doctors claim the surrogate mothers face, is not understood by many. Their one clear worry is that they get the money they have been promised.
