Surrogate mothers get money starting from the moment pregnancy is registered
The baby is given to his genetic parents on the first day when it is discharged from maternity hospital. A 24-year-old Tatstsyana from Maladzechna came to a legal advice office to solve her problems and was asked if she wanted … to become a surrogate mother. ERB described the young woman getting ready for impregnation two months ago. Now we decided to find out what had changed over the period. Tatstsyana has quit her job and underwent impregnation two weeks ago. Only close relatives and friends know about her decision to become a surrogate mother.
Tatstsyana: Of course, my parents, close friends and and some other people who understand me know about it. The rest do not need to be informed.
ERB: When you become pregnant, you will not be able to hide the fact in 4 or 5 months. Have you invented a story to tell the surrounding people?
Tatstsyana: The genetic parents will be renting me a flat in Minsk. I will not be living at home and nobody will see me.
As soon as the results of the impregnation are available, Tatstsyana will move to a Minsk flat with her son (the genetic parents live in the capital). The child will be able to go to a local kindergarten. That’s the way out suggested to the woman by the genetic parents.
Tatstsyana: First, it will be convenient for them. Second, everything will be close – the kindergarten, doctors and a polyclinic. So it will also be convenient for me.
The genetic parents visit Tatstsyana once or twice a week now. She is not receiving the monthly assistanceу (a fixed sum of 300 USD) yet. According to the contract, she will start getting it as soon as she becomes pregnant. All vitamins and medicine are being bought by the genetic parents now. The rent of a Minsk flat will not be included in the monthly assistance. ERB asked Tatstsyana whether she would like to change at least one of the terms in the contract.
Tatstsyana: You know, were discussed everything that I wanted to see in the contract when we were composing it. And the terms of the genetic parents were added there too. So we reached a compromise.
Tatstsyana refused to tell the age of the genetic parents to ERB: she signed a contact forbidding her to distribute any kind of information about them. According to her, in spite of the agreements between them they are also connected by friendly relations.
Tatstsyana: We are like close acquaintances and I think it should be like that. If we lacked such a relationship nothing would be done.
At the moment the parents and Tatstsyana are thinking about the results of the impregnation. The woman used to say she would try to be friends with the parents after the child is born but now she says she does not know what her life would be like after that. She only knows that she will receive 10 thousand dollars after having given birth.
The fee was 15 thousands at first but they agreed on 10 later. The Maladzechna company “Surkansalt” is the only company in the country dealing with looking for surrogate mothers. It found 10 women last year. All of them are either getting ready for impregnation or are already pregnant. None of them has given birth yet. The head of the company Aksana Vaitsyahovich told ERB: “As usual, genetic parents pay attention to the health of the woman rather then her looks. Genetic parents from neighbouring countries also turn to them but they work only with Belarusians.
According to the law, a surrogate mother has no right to claim the child and the procedure of giving the child away should be described in the contract”.
Aksana Vaitsyahovіch: It is stated in the contract. If it says that it will happen after they are discharged from hospital then it means the child will be given away after a doctor’s certificate from the maternity hospital is available. It will happen on the very day the certificate is given out.
Every woman that turned to “Surkanslat” in 2007 has become a surrogate mother. All of them underwent medical check-ups. There is a psychologist available for them in the company. According to Aksana Vaitsyahovich, they rarely need his services because all of them know what they are doing.
Tatstsyana: Of course, my parents, close friends and and some other people who understand me know about it. The rest do not need to be informed.
ERB: When you become pregnant, you will not be able to hide the fact in 4 or 5 months. Have you invented a story to tell the surrounding people?
Tatstsyana: The genetic parents will be renting me a flat in Minsk. I will not be living at home and nobody will see me.
As soon as the results of the impregnation are available, Tatstsyana will move to a Minsk flat with her son (the genetic parents live in the capital). The child will be able to go to a local kindergarten. That’s the way out suggested to the woman by the genetic parents.
Tatstsyana: First, it will be convenient for them. Second, everything will be close – the kindergarten, doctors and a polyclinic. So it will also be convenient for me.
The genetic parents visit Tatstsyana once or twice a week now. She is not receiving the monthly assistanceу (a fixed sum of 300 USD) yet. According to the contract, she will start getting it as soon as she becomes pregnant. All vitamins and medicine are being bought by the genetic parents now. The rent of a Minsk flat will not be included in the monthly assistance. ERB asked Tatstsyana whether she would like to change at least one of the terms in the contract.
Tatstsyana: You know, were discussed everything that I wanted to see in the contract when we were composing it. And the terms of the genetic parents were added there too. So we reached a compromise.
Tatstsyana refused to tell the age of the genetic parents to ERB: she signed a contact forbidding her to distribute any kind of information about them. According to her, in spite of the agreements between them they are also connected by friendly relations.
Tatstsyana: We are like close acquaintances and I think it should be like that. If we lacked such a relationship nothing would be done.
At the moment the parents and Tatstsyana are thinking about the results of the impregnation. The woman used to say she would try to be friends with the parents after the child is born but now she says she does not know what her life would be like after that. She only knows that she will receive 10 thousand dollars after having given birth.
The fee was 15 thousands at first but they agreed on 10 later. The Maladzechna company “Surkansalt” is the only company in the country dealing with looking for surrogate mothers. It found 10 women last year. All of them are either getting ready for impregnation or are already pregnant. None of them has given birth yet. The head of the company Aksana Vaitsyahovich told ERB: “As usual, genetic parents pay attention to the health of the woman rather then her looks. Genetic parents from neighbouring countries also turn to them but they work only with Belarusians.
According to the law, a surrogate mother has no right to claim the child and the procedure of giving the child away should be described in the contract”.
Aksana Vaitsyahovіch: It is stated in the contract. If it says that it will happen after they are discharged from hospital then it means the child will be given away after a doctor’s certificate from the maternity hospital is available. It will happen on the very day the certificate is given out.
Every woman that turned to “Surkanslat” in 2007 has become a surrogate mother. All of them underwent medical check-ups. There is a psychologist available for them in the company. According to Aksana Vaitsyahovich, they rarely need his services because all of them know what they are doing.
