Centre for Family Research, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Free School Lane, Cambridge CB2 3RF, UK.
Hum Reprod. 2014 Jan;29(1):90-6. doi: 10.1093/humrep/det410. Epub 2013 Nov 20.
What impact does surrogacy have on the surrogates' own children?
The children of surrogate mothers do not experience any negative consequences as a result of their mother's decision to be a surrogate, irrespective of whether or not the surrogate uses her own egg.
STUDY DESIGN, SIZE AND DURATION: Participants were recruited as part of a study of the long-term effects of surrogacy for surrogates and their family members. Data were collected from 36 children of surrogates at a single time point.
PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: Participants whose mother had been a surrogate 5-15 years prior to interview and who were aged over 12 years were eligible to take part. Thirty-six participants (14 male and 22 female) aged 12-25 years were interviewed (response rate = 52%). Questionnaires assessing psychological health and family functioning were administered.
Forty-four per cent (15) of participants' mothers had undergone gestational surrogacy, 39% (14) had used their own egg (genetic surrogacy) and 19% (7) had completed both types of surrogacy. Most surrogates' children (86%, 31) had a positive view of their mother's surrogacy. Forty-seven per cent (17) of children were in contact with the surrogacy child and all reported good relationships with him/her. Forty per cent (14) of children referred to the child as a sibling or half-sibling and this did not differ between genetic and gestational surrogacy. Most children (89%, 32), reported a positive view of family life, with all enjoying spending time with their mother. Mean scores on the questionnaire assessments of psychological health and self-esteem were within the normal range and did not differ by surrogacy type.
LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: The sample size for this study was relatively small and not all children chose to take part, therefore their views cannot be known. Nevertheless, this is the first study to assess the experiences of surrogacy from the perspective of the surrogates' own children. There may be some bias from the inclusion of siblings from the same family.
Findings of this study show that family relationships within the surrogate's own family are good and that the children are not negatively affected as a result of their mother's decision to be a surrogate. These results are of importance to counsellors and support groups offering advice to surrogates and intended parents.
STUDY FUNDING, COMPETING INTERESTS: This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (grant number ES/I009221/1). None of the authors has any conflict of interest to declare.
代孕对代孕者自己的孩子有什么影响？
代孕母亲的孩子不会因为母亲决定代孕而遭受任何负面影响，无论代孕者是否使用自己的卵子。
研究设计、规模和持续时间：参与者是作为代孕及其家庭成员长期影响研究的一部分招募的。在一个时间点收集了 36 名代孕者子女的数据。
参与者/材料、地点、方法：在接受采访前 5-15 年曾为代孕母亲且年龄超过 12 岁的参与者有资格参加。36 名参与者（14 名男性和 22 名女性）年龄在 12-25 岁之间接受了采访（回应率=52%）。进行了评估心理健康和家庭功能的问卷调查。
44%（15 名）参与者的母亲接受了妊娠代孕，39%（14 名）使用了自己的卵子（基因代孕），19%（7 名）完成了两种代孕。大多数代孕者的孩子（86%，31 名）对母亲的代孕持积极态度。47%（17 名）的孩子与代孕孩子有联系，所有人都报告与他/她关系良好。40%（14 名）的孩子称孩子为兄弟姐妹或同父异母/同母异父兄弟姐妹，这在基因代孕和妊娠代孕之间没有差异。大多数孩子（89%，32 名）对家庭生活持积极态度，所有人都喜欢和母亲在一起。心理健康和自尊问卷评估的平均得分在正常范围内，与代孕类型无关。
局限性、谨慎的原因：本研究的样本量相对较小，并非所有孩子都选择参加，因此无法了解他们的观点。然而，这是第一项从代孕者自身子女的角度评估代孕经历的研究。由于纳入了来自同一家庭的兄弟姐妹，可能存在一些偏见。
这项研究的结果表明，代孕者自己家庭内的家庭关系良好，孩子不会因为母亲决定代孕而受到负面影响。这些结果对向代孕者和准父母提供建议的顾问和支持团体很重要。
研究资金、利益冲突：这项工作得到了经济和社会研究委员会（grant number ES/I009221/1）的支持。作者均无利益冲突。
