War in Ukraine Puts Spotlight on Country's Surrogate Mothers

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By Joel Brussels , Parent Herald Mar 09, 09:12 am

Photo: (Photo : Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Surrogate mothers in Ukraine are being put in the spotlight at the moment following Russia's invasion of their country. Panicked parents of the babies they are carrying have appeared in the news lately, asking for help to get them out of war-torn Ukraine.

Julia Osiyevska, a director of a surrogacy agency in Ukraine, spoke to MyLondon about the intense pressure she has been facing ever since Russia started invading Ukraine. According to Osiyevska, the war has generated new levels of panic from worried parents, who want to get updates round the clock about their unborn babies.

With Osiyevska sometimes being the only link between the two parties, the burden of communication has been placed on her. As director of the New Hope Surrogacy Agency, her main responsibility is to ensure the safety of the pregnant women the company is handling and help affected foreign families calm down during this crisis.

Panic setting in for foreign clients of surrogacy agency

For Osiyevska, helping her foreign clients calm down is quite ironic as she is the one living in the country that Russia is bombarding. That fact is not lost on Osiyevska, who reminds her clients of the challenges they currently face in Ukraine.

Osiyevska said that she has told the parents to please respect their feelings and that the ones situated in Ukraine, particularly the surrogate mothers, are in a much more difficult position. Osiyevska emphasizes to her clients that the current situation might be stressful for them, but at least they are safe and do not have any bombs and rockets going off on them.

What makes the situation even more difficult for Osiyevska is that she wasn't prepared for Russia to wage war in her country, just like many Ukrainians. Osiyevska decided to transfer quickly alongside her son to her mother region in central Ukraine, which she says is safe at the moment.

Surrogate mothers caught in crossfire between Russia and Ukraine

Osiyevska's life may be difficult now, but it is even more so for the surrogate mothers who are navigating this deadly war. There are plenty of them in Ukraine. The country's surrogacy-friendly laws make it one of the top international destinations for parents wanting to have a child via this method.

Surrogacy has become a life-changer for Ukrainian women living in poor rural areas. Foreign clients provide huge sums of money to surrogate mothers to carry their babies. The cash is enough to help them buy properties in Ukraine.

According to Osiyevska, salaries in Ukraine are very low, and surrogacy offers some women a fast way to buy accommodation. Surrogacy may be big business in Ukraine, but most mothers who do these still prefer to keep their pregnancies a secret to prevent other people from judging them.

That is the least of their concerns right now, with surrogate mothers desperate to escape the shelling and bombing in Ukraine. Osiyevska said that some mothers under her care are off to Moldova to seek refuge there.