The Psychological State of Surrogate Mothers

We are not just another surrogacy agency.  At Shared Conception, we sincerely strive to
be successful in fulfilling your dreams and work hard to ensure that everyone
is emotionally healthy and satisfied. As a result, we consistently do our
research to keep our pulse on the psychological state of surrogate moms and
even their kids. Here’s some of the info we found.

• 
  A
  study by the Family and Child Psychology Research Centre at City University,
  London, UK, concluded that surrogate mothers rarely had difficulty
  relinquishing rights to a surrogate child and that the intended mothers showed
  greater warmth to the child than mothers conceiving naturally.

• Anthropological
  studies of surrogates have shown that surrogates engage in various distancing
  techniques throughout the surrogate pregnancy so as to ensure that they do not
  become emotionally attached to the baby.

• Many
  surrogates intentionally try to foster the development of emotional attachment
  between the intended mother and the surrogate child.

• Surrogates
  are generally encouraged by the agency they go through (such as Shared
  Conception) to become emotionally detached from the fetus prior to giving
  birth.

• Instead
  of the popular expectation that surrogates feel traumatized after giving birth
  to the child of the intended parents, an overwhelming majority describe feeling
  empowered by their surrogacy experience.

• Although
  surrogate mothers generally report being satisfied with their experience as
  surrogates there are cases in which they are not. Unmet expectations are
  associated with dissatisfaction. Some women did not feel a certain level of
  closeness with the couple and others did not feel respected by the couple.

• Some
  women experience emotional distress when participating as a surrogate mother.
  This could be due to a lack of therapy and emotional support throughout the
  surrogate process. Shared Conception willingly provides that support as needed.

• A
  2011 study from the Centre for Family Research at the University of Cambridge
  found that surrogacy does not have a negative impact on the surrogate’s own
  children.

• A
  recent study (involving 32 surrogacies, 32 egg donations, and 54 natural
  conception families) examined the impact of surrogacy on mother/child
  relationships and those children’s psychological adjustment at seven years
  old.  Researchers found no differences in
  negativity, maternal positivity, or child adjustment.

We are a transparent surrogacy agency that will be compassionately
straightforward with you,  and everyone
else involved, as we help make your familial dreams come true! Call on us.