Surrogate Children Suffer Emotional Problems in Adolescence, Says Study

A latest study states that surrogate children face emotional difficulties. Researchers at the University of Cambridge found that surrogate children may develop adjustment problems as early as 7 years of age compared to other children as they find it difficult to accept that they have surrogate mothers.

The research, led by Susan Golombok, a professor of family research and director of the Centre for Family Research at the University of Cambridge, studied 30 surrogacy families, 35 sperm donation families, 31 egg donation families and 53 natural conception families till the children were 10 years old. The mothers were separately surveyed when the children reached ages  3, 7 and 10 to find out the adjustment levels of the children.

The study found that children from normal parents and surrogacy groups showed little difference in adjustment levels. But, they noticed that the children displayed different adjustment levels when they hit adolescence.

"Signs of adjustment problems could be behavior problems, such as aggressive or antisocial behavior, or emotional problems, such as anxiety or depression. Adolescence is a potentially difficult for those born through egg or sperm donation or surrogacy. We hope to revisit the children next year when they are 14 years-old, as issues to do with identity become important in adolescence. This is also a time when relationships with parents can become more difficult," Golombok said.

According to the researchers, the parents must tell the children about their surrogacy at an appropriate time

In the U.S. the number of babies conceived through donated eggs increased by 30 percent in 2004 and 2011 and in the same time frame the number of surrogacy births increases by 200 percent, reported Science World Report citing Daily Mail.