Did You Know A Surrogate Mother In Delhi's Slums Earns As Little As Rs 10,000 For A Baby?
A surrogate mother narrates her experience and the fear of what the winter session of the Parliament will bring for her family
33-year-old Sunita (name changed) is three-and-a half months pregnant. Her husband is a farmer, who moved to Delhi seven years ago after taking a single bigha of land on rent to farm. Once he had found a landlord, he found himself a house on rent in Madanpur Khadar, South Delhi's resettlement colony for slum dwellers, and brought Sunita and their son to Delhi from the village.
In their third year in the city, Sunita was bearing the couple's second child when her husband fell gravely ill. He was unable to tend to his crops and despite whatever help they could muster, the couple suffered losses over the next months. Debts began to mount and Sunita's husband was still not well enough to work.
A family friend, who lives in near Uttam Nagar - a slum cluster in the western part of the city, suggested being a surrogate mother.
Representational image/BCCL
"I refused at first. I didn't want anyone else's child in me and I didn't understand what they would do to me," Sunita tells Indiatimes. "She explained the process to me a few times and said it was for my own good, that my children and my husband would not have to suffer. I was still reluctant. Then one day, she brought her friend to my home. The landlord had been harrassing us that morning for the rent. My family friend paid him and told me to return the money when I got something. The other woman then told me that she had carried two children for other people and explained how it works. One of the children belonged to a foreigner."
ALSO READ: India Set To Regulate Surrogacy For Parents, No Surrogate Kids For Live-Ins And Homosexual Couples
After the birth of her daughter, Sunita immediately set out to find her family friend and the other woman. She discovered that the husband of the other woman worked at a well-known IVF clinic. She was casually taken in for a visit to a 'free post-natal examination' for the well-being of new mothers.
Two weeks later, she was discreetly called for by the clinic.
Representational image/BCCL
Sunita was given a list of instructions that she would have to follow to qualify for surrogacy. She was explained that there was no sex involved. Her husband was also assured that she would be taken care of by the best doctors at the clinic with round-the-clock monitoring if she conceived.
The couple was promised Rs 10,000 for a surrogacy.
In the past three years, Sunita has given birth thrice, including her own daughter. She says that the first pregnancy went so smoothly that she did not waste time for the second, or third. She is currently carrying her third surrogate child, this time from a different IVF clinic based in central Delhi.
ALSO READ: Celebs Have Made Surrogacy A Hobby, Says Sushma Swaraj!
Representational image/BCCL
"When I was eager to have a second child, another surrogate at the IVF clinic caught up with me after I had left," Sunita says. "She asked me why I needed the money and when I told her of our family and the problems, she said that the clinic would not let me have another child for a year. When I confided that I could not wait that long as my son had started going to school and husband was not going to be able to make enough for the four of us, she told me to meet her at another clinic in Daryganj. She charged me a commission but I got to have another child."
ALSO READ: SC Tells Govt To Push For Ban On Commercial Surrogacy
The sudden added income had changed the way her family saw life. Her husband still went to the farm. The neighbours were initially told tat she was off to visit her family, as Sunita stayed indoors but soon, they called on Sunita's mother-in-law to come and attend to the housework and deal with neighbours.
While carrying her second surrogate child, another woman from her neighbourhood asked her to help. Her family was in debt as well. Sunita recommended her to the clinic in Daryaganj and got a commission.
BCCL
"When we had started, I was told very clearly that we are not allowed to talk about what we do with people. I don't understand. I have vitamin supplements, the doctors examine me regularly and care for my health throughout the pregnancy. In case of any problems, we are given all help. Why can't I do this and save my family?" Sunita asks. "My son has been studying in an English-medium school, how can I ask him to leave that?"
When we ask her about the long-term effects on her health with such frequent births, she responded, "Do you think I would not be carrying children for my husband if I was not doing this?" She added that her friends - other surrogates - think that this is a passing phase and that everything will return to normal in some time.
