Tatstsyana: “I have become a surrogate mother by accident”
ERB decided to talk to the woman who has agreed to become a surrogate mother. It turned out that Tatstsyana came to one law firm to solve her own case and was suddenly suggested the service.
ERB has managed to find only one Belarusian law firm rendering the service of surrogate maternity. A Maladzechna company “Surkansalt” started working several months ago and has already managed to find 6 surrogate mothers. All the women are getting ready for fecundation or are already pregnant. None of them has given birth to their child yet. The main demands concerning surrogate mothers are: the age should be below 35, higher education is a plus and the woman should not be married. However, the woman has to have her own child. The husband of the surrogate mother has to agree to everything according to art.53 of the Marriage and Family Code. And he may not agree…
The director of the company Aksana Vaitsyahovіch informed ERB: “As a rule, genetic parents pay attention to the health of the woman rather then her looks. However, one couple demanded blue eyes.”
Aksana Vaitsyahovіch: Parents who have tried all ways of giving birth to their child are usually worried only about the health of the surrogate mother. Of cause genetic parents are different. One couple demanded that the mother should have blue eyes. We asked them: “Why? It is not her child!”
According to art.53 of the Marriage and Family Code a surrogate mother is not considered the mother of the child she gives birth to, neither legally nor biologically (the ovule of the genetic parents is implanted in her and the woman is only a kind of special incubator). So she has no rights and cannot claim the child. She is being told it all the time after she signs the contract and till she gives birth to avoid any problems in the future. In Russia a surrogate mother has the right to claim a child if she changes her mind and the court will be on her side. It cannot be done in Belarus.
Aksana Vaitsyahovіch told that not only Belarusian couples wanted a surrogate mother. Citizens of the USA and Russia also turned to them.
Aksana Vaitsyahovіch: In fact we do not intend to work with foreigners because there are a lot of childless couples in Belarus. And they are willing to use the help of a surrogate mother. Maybe we will do it in the future but not now. However, we are already getting offers from Moscow.
As a rule, young women who need to make money quickly agree to become surrogate mothers. A 24-year-old Tattsyana came to a legal firm to solve her case and was suddenly suggested … to become a surrogate mother.
Tatstsyana: I came for a consultation to a legal firm. They informed me that they were practicing surrogate maternity. I had never imagined what it was and how it could be done in Belarus before. It took me a month to think everything over and I agreed on it.
Tatstsyana’s friends cannot understand her.
Tatstsyana: Many friends were against it because they do not understand what the programme is like. I didn’t know it myself. Probably if somebody had told me about it I would have reacted the same way. However, I immediately agreed after a meeting with the genetic parents. We settled everything and have practically become like relatives. Even the absence of a higher education did not influence their intention. I graduated from a technical college.
Genetic parents liked Tatstsyana and took a look at the girl’s flat to see what conditions she and her 2-year-old child lived in. They suggested a medical check-up to make sure of compatibility and signed the agreement afterwards.
Tatstsyana has been taking vitamins for three month already. She is going to give birth to a healthy child and will undergo fecundation in a month. We asked her if the genetic parents were supervising everything:
Of course they visit me but not very often – once a week. We phone each other every day. In general, we are on good terms.
How much does the service cost?
The genetic parents live in Minsk. According to Aksana Vaitsyahovіch, the company controls all the women. If they are worried about something a psychologist helps them.
Aksana Vaitsyahovіch: We visit her every day, talk to her: what is she doing? Where is she? We are keeping an eye on her health and bring her to medical check-ups. It does not matter where the mother lives – it can be Minsk or Maladzechna or any other region.
Tatstsyana is getting 300 USD per every month now and will get 15 thousand dollars after the child is born. ERB wondered is she was ready to answer her neighbours’ questions: you were pregnant so where is the child?
Tatstsyana: I considered this issue before and that’s why it was difficult for me to take this decision. However, after I talked to the genetic parents I managed to change my mind. I’m not worried about what my neighbours will think and it does not matter.
Tatstsyana is sure that she will be able to give the child away easily because the baby will not have a single cell of hers. It is a good chance to earn money and help other people. She may become a surrogate mother again after that. However, she does not want to think whether she will keep meeting the genetic parents and the child after the childbirth.
Photo — www.km.ru
ERB has managed to find only one Belarusian law firm rendering the service of surrogate maternity. A Maladzechna company “Surkansalt” started working several months ago and has already managed to find 6 surrogate mothers. All the women are getting ready for fecundation or are already pregnant. None of them has given birth to their child yet. The main demands concerning surrogate mothers are: the age should be below 35, higher education is a plus and the woman should not be married. However, the woman has to have her own child. The husband of the surrogate mother has to agree to everything according to art.53 of the Marriage and Family Code. And he may not agree…
The director of the company Aksana Vaitsyahovіch informed ERB: “As a rule, genetic parents pay attention to the health of the woman rather then her looks. However, one couple demanded blue eyes.”
Aksana Vaitsyahovіch: Parents who have tried all ways of giving birth to their child are usually worried only about the health of the surrogate mother. Of cause genetic parents are different. One couple demanded that the mother should have blue eyes. We asked them: “Why? It is not her child!”
According to art.53 of the Marriage and Family Code a surrogate mother is not considered the mother of the child she gives birth to, neither legally nor biologically (the ovule of the genetic parents is implanted in her and the woman is only a kind of special incubator). So she has no rights and cannot claim the child. She is being told it all the time after she signs the contract and till she gives birth to avoid any problems in the future. In Russia a surrogate mother has the right to claim a child if she changes her mind and the court will be on her side. It cannot be done in Belarus.
Aksana Vaitsyahovіch told that not only Belarusian couples wanted a surrogate mother. Citizens of the USA and Russia also turned to them.
Aksana Vaitsyahovіch: In fact we do not intend to work with foreigners because there are a lot of childless couples in Belarus. And they are willing to use the help of a surrogate mother. Maybe we will do it in the future but not now. However, we are already getting offers from Moscow.
As a rule, young women who need to make money quickly agree to become surrogate mothers. A 24-year-old Tattsyana came to a legal firm to solve her case and was suddenly suggested … to become a surrogate mother.
Tatstsyana: I came for a consultation to a legal firm. They informed me that they were practicing surrogate maternity. I had never imagined what it was and how it could be done in Belarus before. It took me a month to think everything over and I agreed on it.
Tatstsyana’s friends cannot understand her.
Tatstsyana: Many friends were against it because they do not understand what the programme is like. I didn’t know it myself. Probably if somebody had told me about it I would have reacted the same way. However, I immediately agreed after a meeting with the genetic parents. We settled everything and have practically become like relatives. Even the absence of a higher education did not influence their intention. I graduated from a technical college.
Genetic parents liked Tatstsyana and took a look at the girl’s flat to see what conditions she and her 2-year-old child lived in. They suggested a medical check-up to make sure of compatibility and signed the agreement afterwards.
Tatstsyana has been taking vitamins for three month already. She is going to give birth to a healthy child and will undergo fecundation in a month. We asked her if the genetic parents were supervising everything:
Of course they visit me but not very often – once a week. We phone each other every day. In general, we are on good terms.
How much does the service cost?
The genetic parents live in Minsk. According to Aksana Vaitsyahovіch, the company controls all the women. If they are worried about something a psychologist helps them.
Aksana Vaitsyahovіch: We visit her every day, talk to her: what is she doing? Where is she? We are keeping an eye on her health and bring her to medical check-ups. It does not matter where the mother lives – it can be Minsk or Maladzechna or any other region.
Tatstsyana is getting 300 USD per every month now and will get 15 thousand dollars after the child is born. ERB wondered is she was ready to answer her neighbours’ questions: you were pregnant so where is the child?
Tatstsyana: I considered this issue before and that’s why it was difficult for me to take this decision. However, after I talked to the genetic parents I managed to change my mind. I’m not worried about what my neighbours will think and it does not matter.
Tatstsyana is sure that she will be able to give the child away easily because the baby will not have a single cell of hers. It is a good chance to earn money and help other people. She may become a surrogate mother again after that. However, she does not want to think whether she will keep meeting the genetic parents and the child after the childbirth.
Photo — www.km.ru
