Minimal scholarship has examined the motivations of gestational surrogates to pursue that role, however law, policy, and practice guidelines around the world tend to dichotomize motivations as “good” and altruistic, or “bad” and financially motivated. Aiming to add nuance to this framing, the current study intended to answer the following question: how do surrogates describe their motivations for becoming surrogates?
The current study uses data from a larger qualitative dissertation project. All surrogates were cisgender women who worked fulltime for pay; household income ranged from $75,000 to more than $150,000. Six were white and seven were heterosexual.
Four themes emerged: a) a calling, in which surrogates described feeling that this was something they were meant to do, b) to provide meaning, in which surrogates described pursuing surrogate to give themselves a sense of purpose, c) altruism, and d) financial stress. This study suggests that surrogates have motivations for this role that go beyond dichotomized altruism and financial gain, as well as further complexifies concerns regarding the “badness” of financial motivation.
Presenters:
Madeleine Allen, she/her, Undergraduate Student, Department of Counseling Psychology, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Rachel L. Dyer, she/her, Graduate Student, Department of Counseling Psychology, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Haviland Byrd, she/her, Undergraduate Student, Department of Counseling Psychology, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Tia Hebbring, she/her, Undergraduate Student, Department of Counseling Psychology, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Lauren White, she/her, Undergraduate Student, Department of Counseling Psychology, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Lilian Kreuser, she/her, Undergraduate Student, Department of Counseling Psychology, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Thanks for sharing, it was interesting to learn more about this topic! The clear explanation of the research methods used and the four themes that emerged from the research question were very engaging.
Thanks for the wonderful presentation! It was very interesting to learn about the lives and motivations of gestational carriers! One question that I have is how do you think gestational carriers’ motivations have changed during the pandemic compared to what they were pre-COVID? It seems like financial support seemed to be a key reason for some to be gestational carriers, and I’m wondering if you could elaborate on that! Thanks again!
Thank you for presenting this information. I appreciate how you outlined vocabulary and described the research process and findings. From this presentation, I learned that surrogacy is not in whole a positive or negative thing, but rather a decision made with multiple factors in mind.