By Adadareporters
Couples having problems of child bearing have been advised to adopt surrogacy through health professionals.
The head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, National Obstetrics Fistula Centre, Abakaliki, Dr Nkiruka Bridget Nwidagu, stated this during a programme in Abakaliki weekend.
She said, “Those having infertility challenges should seek medical attention. If it can be cured, it will be handled. If it is not possible, one can go for in vitro fertilization. If IVF is not possible, go for surrogacy. One can also go for child adoption. None of them is against God’s will. God urges mankind to ‘go and multiply’.”
She also called on surrogacy agencies in Nigeria to create more awareness, noting that, “Nigeria is the easiest place for surrogacy because we have no laws regulating it. Just do your paper works with relevant stakeholders.”
Dr Nwidagu further said, “Surrogacy is when another woman carries a baby for a couple to help them become parents. It is not the carrier’s child. Some couples might have tried every means to get babies and it is not working. Issues about surrogacy bother on the woman in the marriage. If there is a problem with the womb of the wife, some wombs are not functional, some are traumatised and cannot carry a baby. Some may have scars that make the womb not comfortable for the baby to live, or the woman has been having recurring miscarriages that cannot be treated, then surrogacy comes in.
“Different countries have different laws about surrogacy, but in Nigeria, we don’t have a law governing surrogacy. Where things work, the carrier is not supposed to be paid for carrying the child. But the carrier is paid for medical bills, and other miscellaneous demands. There are some agencies that handle it. In such cases, if someone needs someone to carry a baby for her, the person is supposed to meet those agencies. It is an association and people register with them. I have seen a woman who says her joy will be much higher if, after given birth, she would start carrying babies for couple in need of children.”
She mentioned two types of surrogacy, gestational and traditional, explaining that “What is obtainable in places mostly is gestational surrogacy. Sometimes you may not even meet the surrogate mother. It is the agencies that organise the person. The person undergoes screening. They will then bring out the woman’s egg. If the egg is not viable, they bring a donor’s egg. Then they can use the man’s semen or that of a donor. It is the couple that is going for it. It is in vitro fertilisation most times. It is implanted in the womb.
“It is different from IVF. In the case of IVF, the woman cannot conceive naturally. The egg of the woman concerned or that of a donor is brought out, and fertilised, and replanted in the womb of the woman. In surrogacy, it is implanted in another person. In gestational surrogacy, the surrogate mother is not the genetic mother. She is only the medium to transport the baby to birth.
“In traditional surrogacy, that’s when we consider friendship. A legal contract may be signed, and the processes involved are paid for. It doesn’t involve intercourse between the woman in need of the baby and another man. It is inter-uterine insemination. When the baby comes, it is handed over to the couple.
“Surrogacy comes in when one has a condition that may be detrimental to one’s health. Pregnancy is a serious journey that requires that one that is involved must be okay. It could be a stage-four kidney disease, or other life-threatening matters. Or if the man has lost the wife, and there were eggs frozen before she died, he could submit his sperm for fertilisation, and then implanted in another woman’s uterus.”
She advised women to avoid religious and cultural colorations to discredit innovative ways of child bearing.
Quoting her, “What makes a natural mother is the genetic components. In terms of breastfeeding, where things work, the baby is delivered and handed over to the couple. It is not a backyard business. There are legal processes. Agencies, the law and professionals are involved. If one had had pregnancy before, and maybe the baby died and pregnancy complications occurred that may result in looking for a surrogate mother, when the baby is handed over to such a mother, the breast milk will flow once the baby starts to suck the breasts. Mothers also volunteer to breastfeed babies when challenges occur. This is different from adoption, where the child is not one’s biological child, but becomes so legally.”
