Women who act as surrogates are at higher risk of suffering from pregnancy-related complications than those carrying their own child, a study found.
A study published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine on Tuesday analyzed data from more than 860,000 live births in Ontario, Canada, between 2012 and 2021. Of those, 806 births were from surrogates.
It is important to note that the study analyzed data on gestational surrogacy specifically. This type of surrogacy involves transferring an embryo of a different woman into the uterus of the person who has agreed to carry and give birth to the child. The process is often done using IVF.
Surrogacy and Pregnancy Complications
That analysis found that surrogate carriers were 7.8% more likely to develop severe maternal health complications. For perspective, only 4.3% of mothers who got pregnant through IVF therapy and 2.3% of those in the unassisted conception group reported severe maternal morbidity.
The three common pregnancy complications reported among surrogates were sepsis (a postpartum infection), severe preeclampsia(high blood pressure), and severe postpartum hemorrhage (losing excessive amounts of blood after giving birth).
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Researchers also took into account certain characteristics, such as each surrogate's level of income, age, number of previous births, obesity, and smoking habits. With those factors considered, the team found that surrogates were 2.9 times more likely to suffer from severe postpartum hemorrhage. They were also 1.79 times more at risk of preterm births.
Apart from complications among surrogates, babies born of surrogacy had slightly higher levels of severe neonatal morbidity.
Further Study Needed on Maternal Complications in Surrogacy
It is believed that the risks are greater among surrogates because the babies are not genetically related to them. Researchers also added that an imbalance in a surrogate's immune response could contribute to pregnancy complications.
That said, it is important to note that the research only analyzed a small group of surrogates. It was noted that the surrogate carriers may have previously had healthy babies without experiencing health complications during pregnancy.
The findings of the research were also purely associative, which means more study is needed to determine if surrogacy is causing maternal complications.
