Skip to main content

Misconception: Surrogacy pregnancies are more prone to medical complications.



In the picturesque town of Holbrook, Arizona, Carrie Hughes, a 36-year old elementary school teacher and mother of two, found a crumpled piece of paper that would direct her life's journey like no other. It was a surrogacy advertisement. Leafing through the worn-out page bearing contact details and smiling photos of grateful parents, she lit upon a path of life-giving, which was unexpected but deeply fulfilling. However, whispers of concern from friends and family started to pour in, all revolving around one pervasive myth: Surrogacy pregnancies are more prone to medical complications.


While it's common to harbor such misconceptions, let's delve deep into research and expert testimonies to separate fact from fiction, debunk this myth, and hopefully, allay the fears like those held by the community surrounding Carrie Hughes.


Before jumping headfirst into misconceptions, let's lay some groundwork. Surrogacy, in simple terms, is an arrangement whereby a woman agrees to carry and give birth to a baby for another person who will become the baby's parent after birth. Most are gestational surrogacy arrangements,  where the surrogate isn't genetically related to the child she carries.


Presented as a popular narrative, there's a pervasive myth that surrogacy pregnancies are attached to higher medical risks. However, this misconception is akin to the fallacy that seashells sound like the ocean because of waves' noise and not due to their resonant cavity acting like a miniature echo chamber.


Dr. Lauren Murray, a renowned reproductive endocrinologist, joins the fight to dispel the misbelief about surrogacy pregnancies. In her two-decade-long practice, Dr. Murray has overseen hundreds of surrogacy arrangements and explains, "Pregnancy is indeed fraught with potential risks, but it is faulty to single out surrogacy as more perilous biologically."


In fact, a comprehensive study published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada conducted over a period of ten years, demonstrated that surrogates and their pregnancies exhibited no higher risk than the general pregnant population. The research examined a myriad of medical factors, including obstetric complications, neonatal outcomes, and gestational length.


Similarly, a report in the journal ‘Human Reproduction’ featured a study comparing gestational surrogate pregnancies with non-surrogate pregnancies, which denoted that both cohorts presented comparable incidences of complications such as gestational diabetes, miscarriages, or preterm labor.


Now, let's pull back our zooming lens to study the bigger picture. Medical complications in any pregnancy, not exclusive to surrogacy, encompass an array of factors. These could be the age and general health of the surrogate, multiple pregnancies if the mother is carrying more than one fetus, or lifestyle choices such as smoking, all of which aren't unique to surrogacy.


However, surrogacy might even hedge certain risks. An experienced surrogate who has completed a successful pregnancy serves as a safe choice. Surrogates are meticulously screened for their physical and mental health, ensuring only the most suitable ones are selected.


Drawing on these insights, we can paint a contrasting picture to the commonly held misconception. Implying that surrogacy pregnancies carry higher risk could discourage potential surrogates like Carrie, depriving those longing to become parents from fulfilling their dreams.


Alert to the implications of her decision, and drawing support from research data and expert opinions such as Dr. Murray, Carrie Hughes decided to proceed with surrogacy.


In a world awash with misconceptions and half-baked truths, understanding the reality of surrogacy pregnancies is paramount to break down these daunting barriers of mythology. This knowledge isn't a mere tool to debunk a popular myth but a means to empower prospective surrogates and intended parents alike.


After all, surrogacy, at its heart, is a journey about the creation of families that may just not happen in the usual way. As for Carrie Hughes and countless other surrogates, choosing the path of surrogacy can be a moment of enlightenment, one that overrules misconceptions and actualizes a deeply human connection. Let this resonate louder than the popular myth, one story at a time.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Misconception: Same-sex couples face more legal hurdles in surrogacy than heterosexual couples.

Introduction It was a cold December morning when Maria handed over the newborn baby to the eagerly waiting couple, Joe and Sam. This was not Maria’s own child; she was a surrogate, and the parents were not the conventional couple you might envision. Joe and Sam were a loving, committed same-sex couple. They had turned to surrogacy under the weighty burden of a misleading perception, that as a same-sex couple, adoption would be a legal maze, much more onerous than for heterosexual counterparts. Context and Background This anecdote captures the dilemma faced by many same-sex couples who want to start a family. Joe and Sam, like many others, had set sail in the sea of surrogacy, driven by a widely held notion that same-sex couples face more substantial legal barriers in surrogacy than heterosexual couples. However, does this conventional wisdom hold water when we delve into solid research and hear from the experts? For a start, let's rewind a bit and clarify what we mean by surrogacy....
Post a Comment
Read more

Misconception: Surrogates face long-term psychological trauma post-delivery.

Nancy, a soft-spoken woman in her mid-thirties from California, recently made an unusual gift, one that some might consider the greatest gift of all - she gave birth to a child for a couple she barely knew. She was a gestational surrogate. Nancy was carefully screened, her psychological and physical wellbeing scrutinized before she was declared fit. A few months after the delivery, she met me for coffee: radiant, genial, and exhibiting no signs of distress, tearing the age-old tapestry of psychological trauma associated with surrogacy. Our meeting set the stage for a deeper inquiry into the commonly perceived notion: A surrogate mother is destined to suffer long-term psychological trauma post-delivery. But data and research suggest the narrative might not run that dark and deep. A growing number of women, like Nancy, are venturing into surrogacy arrangements, opening their bodies and lives to create families for others. The public narrative - often spurred by dramatic film portrayals a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Misconception: Intended parents have no say in the prenatal care of the surrogate.

Once upon a time, nestled in the heart of New York City, a young couple sat anxiously in a plush, carpeted waiting room. Samantha gripped her husband Jake’s hand, her eyes oscillating between the ticking clock and the closed office door. They were about to step into an uncharted territory – surrogacy. But a thought bubble above their heads carried the same unnerving question - Do intended parents have any say in the prenatal care of the surrogate? This overarching question has been a source of worry for many prospective intended parents. Conventional wisdom has fostered an erroneous belief that intended parents find themselves on the sidelines, watching passively without having any say in prenatal care once they choose to walk the path of surrogacy. However, the reality is far more nuanced, and the narrative much more empowering. Digging deeper into this myth, we discovered an intriguing plethora of data from a slew of studies and legal documents across many countries. One particular s...
Post a Comment
Read more