Human Reproduction, Vol. 15, No. 8, 1849-1855,
August 2000
© 2000 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
The importance of a genetic link in mothers commissioning a surrogate baby in the UK*
Division of Primary Care, Public and Occupational Health, Public Health Building, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Correspondence: Division of Primary Care, Public and Occupational Health, Public Health Building, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. E-mail: O.B.A.van-den-Akker{at}bham.ac.uk
Reproductive technologies have enabled genetic and gestational links between parents and children to become separate from social relationships and inter-personal ties within families. The meaning of family is discussed, by drawing on research with infertile women who become parents as the result of surrogacy. The complexities of family are highlighted by addressing the consequences of babies carried and delivered by women who are not the biological parents of the child, or by women who are the biological mother of the child but who relinquish their genetic material to another woman. In all, 29 women completed a questionnaire on various aspects of their infertility, surrogacy, and the importance of a genetic link. The study identified some characteristics of women who have become mothers as a result of surrogacy, and some of their reactions to this way of creating families. In general, women who could use their own genetic material tended to believe a genetic link was important. Those who could not use their own genetic material were less uniform in their beliefs about the importance of a genetic link. The cognitive dissonance observed in this population has implications for the future of reproductive technology assisting couples in becoming a family with or without genetic relatedness.
Key words: cognitive dissonance/family/genetic/infertility/surrogate
* The views expressed here are those of the author, not the National Health Service.
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