GRADUATES RENT WOMB TO SECURE THEIR FUTURE

 Number of educated women willingto rent out their wombs is on the rise; many use the money to start a business,educate their children or invest in property, say infertility experts

Mona Mahta a-28-year-old woman with a BCom degree, earned lakhs of rupees in eight months.

She is using the money to not only educate her two daughters but also prepare for examination to get a bank job. But Mehta she is not just another working mother. She is a surrogate mom.

With Ahmedabad ranking only second to Anand in handling surrogacy cases in India, several young and educated women like Mona are renting their wombs to earn money. With the money they earn, some start their own business, educate children or invest it in property.

Despite her Bachelor's degree, Mona ­ who hails from Madhya Pradesh ­ could not land a job of her choice as she did not know Gujarati. Her husband drives an autorickshaw and has to spend part of his income on paying the rental for the vehicle which leaves the family with limited cash. That is, till Mona opted for rent her womb to a foreign couple as a quick and legal alternative to make money.

“I have more than 150 surrogate mothers at my centre, of which 10 are graduates. They let out the wombs with their family's permission. More and more young educated women are opting for this method to improve their socioeconomic status,“ said Dr Kamini Mehta, infertility expert at Vani Hospital.Sushma Prajapati, 20, is BEdqualified and has already given birth to two surrogate children.“Her husband's income is inadequate to run the family and she cannot afford to leave her only child alone at home so she opted for surrogacy,“ said the doctor.She also gave the example of Preeti Desai, a double graduate, whose husband is a computer trainer. She recently registered herself at an IVF clinic for surrogacy. “As surrogate mothers are also provided with medical insurance worth lakhs, which they can claim during any medical emergency even after delivery, women are willing to rent their wombs,“ experts said.

INVESTING IN FUTURE

This has opened a wide range of opportunities for educated women. Geeta Solanki, 23, started a catering business with the money she received after renting her womb twice. “She has hire 50 girls to help her with the business. She also extended monetary assistance to the family during the marriage of her sister-in-law,“ revealed Dr Mehta.

She added that even women who dropped out of school are learning English to communicate with the biological parents, usually foreigners.Surrogate mother Neha Jalla has studied till Class 8. “She is now learning English so that when the couple asks her about their baby, she can speak to them without the help of a mediator,“ said Dr Mehta.

BABY FACTORY

India first opened its gate to surrogacy in 2002 along with a few countries like Georgia, Russia, Thailand and Ukraine, and a few US states where women could be paid to carry others' biological children. A UNbacked study in July 2012 estimated the surrogacy business at more than $400 million a year in India with over 3,000 fertility clinics across the country.

Currently, surrogacy brings millions of rupees to the country and according to medical experts, Around 80 per cent of this money comes to Gujarat.For every delivery, couples give the mothers anything between Rs 4 lakh and Rs 5 lakh. Besides, according to their agreement, the couple also pays for the daily expenses of the surrogate mother until the baby is born.

(Names of surrogate mothers changed to protect their identity)

A PROFESSION?

Gita Aravamudan, writer of `Baby Maker' a book on surrogacy which is based on a research for two years across several cities including Ahmedabad, said that many young and educated women are getting into the business which with passing time is changing into a profes sion. “Previously, there were many misconceptions about surrogacy but with spreading awareness, educated women who cannot go out to work are also getting into surrogacy,“ she told Mirror.For every de livery, a surrogate mother is paid between Rs 4 lakh and Rs 5 lakh.

According to surrogacy law, a woman can conceive thrice with a gap of 2-3 years. So, a woman sitting at home can earn somewhere Rs12 to Rs 15 lakh in just 21 months. “The sum is alluring. It is what is at tracting more and more women to let out their wombs,“ she added.