Screening of gestational carriers in the United States.

OBJECTIVE

To assess medical and psychosocial screening and evaluation received by gestational carriers and compare those using agencies to those not using agencies.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional questionnaire.

SETTING

Not applicable.

PATIENT(S): A total of 204 women who completed a survey on their experiences as gestational carriers in the United States.

INTERVENTION(S): None.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Self-reported screening received before gestational carrier pregnancies.

RESULT(S): Overall, 97.1% of gestational carriers had a complete medical evaluation and 94.6% had an evaluation or counseling by a mental health professional. Most participants indicated that they had been informed of at least some medical risks (92.6%) and psychological considerations (89.7%). Participants most often recalled being informed of the risks of multiple pregnancy (89.2%) and medical procedures and medications (87.2%), but least often recalled being informed about the risks of impact on their own employment (46.6%) and to their own children (61.3%). There were no differences in outcome measures between those using an agency and those who did not.

CONCLUSION(S): Self-reported screening and evaluation was high, but still not 100% on all measures. Further education of providers regarding guidelines for the screening and evaluation of gestational carriers may be needed.