An increasingly popular pregnancy method used by celebrities including Jimmy Fallon and Kim Kardashian comes with an increased risk of complications and death.
A new study finds that surrogate mothers, women who carry and give birth to a child for someone else, are more likely to experience life-threatening complications and death during pregnancy than women who give birth to their own children.
By studying data from more than 800,000 pregnancies in Canada, researchers found that surrogate mothers are more likely to develop preeclampsia, a potentially fatal condition that causes high blood pressure, nausea and vomiting.
It has also been linked to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke later in life.
The number of life-threatening health problems that can occur during or after childbirth For surrogate mothers, this was eight percent, compared to two percent for people who carried their own child.
People choose surrogacy for a number of reasons – whether it’s complicated previous pregnancies or infertility. Jimmy Fallon has spoken about his and his wife’s decision to use a surrogate. Kim Kardashian has also shared her experience with surrogacy, using two different women to have children with Kanye West
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According to study author Dr. Maria Velez, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Queen’s University in Canada, people who want to pay other people to carry their babies should be aware of these risks.
Dr. Velez said, “Physicians involved in the care of individuals and couples who require a surrogate to start a family should inform their patients and the surrogates about the potential risks during pregnancy and the first few months after delivery.”
Surrogacy, in which one couple’s embryos are implanted into the womb of another woman who carries the child, has become more popular due to increasing medical advances.
The researchers analyzed 863,017 pregnancies from 2012 to 2021, 806 of which were surrogacy, and published their findings in the journal journal Annals of Internal Medicine.
While the topic remains controversial, the authors note that few studies have been conducted to compare the safety of surrogacy with a normal birth.
Dr Velez said: ‘The impetus for the study was the increase in the use of surrogacy worldwide and a lack of information about the impact of this reproductive method on pregnancy outcomes, for the surrogate and the offspring.’
Childbirth is inherently risky. When giving birth, new mothers risk massive blood loss, tissue tears, and changes in blood pressure.
A common complication is preeclampsia: a sudden and dangerous change in the mother’s blood pressure during pregnancy or childbirth. This can lead to premature birth, liver damage, seizures, comas, heart disease and death.
It occurs in about five to eight percent of all pregnancies in the US and is more common in women who are obese, over 35, or have an autoimmune disease.
The study found that eight percent of surrogates experienced life-threatening complications, most notably preeclampsia and heavy bleeding.
This was four times higher than the group that gave birth naturally, where two percent of pregnancies resulted in complications at birth.
Surrogate mothers were also more likely to give birth prematurely — before 37 weeks of pregnancy — than other women. Yet the babies they had were generally just as healthy as the babies their biological mothers had.
The authors note that screening guidelines for surrogates should rule out existing health conditions that could increase the chance of a complicated pregnancy. But, Dr. Velez said, “these guidelines are not always strictly followed.”
Overall, surrogacy is still a relatively rare situation.
This is probably because it costs a lot of money to support a surrogate mother – it can cost more than $200,000 according to American Surrogacy – making it a matter for the rich.
Researchers found that the risks were greater for women who chose to become surrogates than for women who gave birth to their own biological children
The salary is one reason some surrogates choose this contract. Others say they agree to be surrogates to help couples who cannot have children of their own.
People who seek a surrogate mother also have a number of motives. Some have had a risky pregnancy before. Others are infertile or have a relationship with someone of the same sex where it is not possible to carry a child themselves.
One of the factors that complicates surrogacy in the U.S. is that it is not legal in every state. Nebraska and Louisiana currently prohibit paid surrogacy.
Paid surrogacy came into the spotlight in the 1980s due to a controversial lawsuit involving a surrogate mother who was paid to carry a couple’s pregnancy in New Jersey. She changed her mind after giving birth and decided she wanted to keep the baby.
The couple who paid the woman to carry the child sued and eventually won custody. In response, New Jersey, New York and other states imposed bans on paid surrogacy that lasted for years.
The case, popularly known as ‘Baby M’ – made surrogacy a nationally controversial issue, with people questioning the ethicality of wealthy couples paying surrogates, who are sometimes considerably poorer, for the temporary use of their wombs.
In Canada, where the study was conducted, surrogacy is largely legal, with some restrictions.