Barriers to surrogacy as perceived by a group of Iranian surrogatemothers: a qualitative study

Childbearing has been a human aspiration and a stimulant for married life. However, a number of medical and social conditions may interfere with the childbearing process. Infertility is among the most important factors affecting this process. Many innovative techniques, including alternative pregnancy or surrogacy, have been developed for the treatment of infertility. The aim of this study was to explore the barriers to surrogacy as perceived by a group of Iranian surrogate mothers.

This was a qualitative content analysis study conducted in 2011. We recruited a sample of ten surrogate mothers, three genetic mothers, one genetic father, and two healthcare professionals (an obstetrician and a social worker) for this study. Initially, the sampling strategy was purposive and then was changed to theoretical. The semi-structured interview method was employed for data collection. In total, we conducted twenty-one 30–60 minutes interviews. We analyzed the data using the qualitative content analysis method. MAXQDA software was employed for data management.

The barriers to surrogacy perceived by participants fell into three main categories including “fear of loss of familial integrity” due to the failure of surrogacy, “lack of social support” due to negative attitude of others towards surrogacy as well as surrogate abuse, and “dissatisfaction”.

Enhancing the public awareness of surrogacy and providing surrogates with stronger social support may improve the quality of their personal life and boost life satisfaction.