Surrogate Mothers, Decision Motivations and Sense of Commitment: A Grounded Theory

Surrogacy is one of the new assisted reproductive technologies (ART). The purpose of this study is to fill one of the research gaps in this area, i.e. the motivations of surrogate mothers and their commitment to the baby during pregnancy and delivery. The study was conducted using the qualitative method and the grounded theory approach. Data were collected using two techniques of participatory observation and semi-structured interviews with 12 surrogate mothers. The data were analyzed based on open, axial and selective coding and a paradigm model was presented. According to the findings, in the Iranian cultural context where infertility has long been a problem, the economic needs and hardships of surrogate mothers, the desire and demand of infertile couples to have children through assisted reproductive technologies act as structural components. The cultural values of the society such as religiosity and altruism are other motivations. The most important intervening factors are loneliness, limited social network and low social support, which have provided the basis for the phenomenon of "benevolent body/ kheirmandi badan". This means that surrogate mothers feel a great responsibility to care for the fetus. They try to take care of the fetus both physically and spiritually. Therefore, here we see a kind of mutual benevolence and usefulness, with the female body being the main mediator.