Wednesday, February 23, 2011

LABOR OF LOVE



        
            Surrogacy has always been a long debated topic.Surrogacy is an option chosen by couples usually as a last resort  ,when a Lady cannot  not conceive or carry a baby in her womb due to various reasons which may include a missing /abnormal uterus,multiple pregnancy failures ,breast cancer or any other factors.A surrogate mother carries the embryo which is implanted  into her  womb after the in vitro fertilization of the couple's egg and sperm respectively.So there is some sort of emotional satisfaction associated with the parents  that the 'baby' is biologically theirs.
       Now ,it's challenging equally both for the mother and the surrogate mother respectively to adopt this option.The mother always has the guilt that she has not carried the child in her womb and has not experienced the eternal feeling of motherhood ;while on the other hand the surrogate mother who has felt  the bonding with the child in the womb , cannot even experience the pleasure of motherhood by raising the child she gave birth to. The reason for me writing this post was because , recently ,I came across this programme named 'Labor of love ' on CNBC channel which played an interview of  a 52 year old lady named Crystal Sirignano who has been a 'surrogate mother'.This news made me just spell bound.The fact that a 52 year old lady conceiving itself was one shocking news and added to it was the fact that she  was doing it for none other than her own daughter!As I saw her glowing face reflecting  immense pride, speaking about her decision to conceive for her daughter,I was filled with mixed emotions of a strange sense of awkwardness and also appreciation.She narrated that her daughter Kendra Sirignano, who had some health issues had been going through depression continuously since 3 years for not being able to conceive and have her own baby.That's when she decided to get herself tested and do her share of help to her daughter for her happiness.Her statement stating that the doctor considered her uterus to be as strong and healthy as a 18 year old gal ,brought a smile on my face.The proud Grand Mother  has delivered not one ,but twins for her daughter.Her daughter on being interviewed ,said that she never ever considered  surrogacy as an option and that it was her mother's idea to conceive for her. She was very apprehensive with the fact that her mother's health would be posed to risk ,but her mother was very much  insistent and she felt  extremely grateful to her  for this brave step.We have read and heard ' Bhagavad Geetha 'that 'there is no other living God in this earth 'and we could reciprocate the favor done to us by anyone in life ,but not of that done by  our mother owing to the 9 months of struggle she would have gone to give birth to us.But after reading this, what would you say about  this mother who has gone one step ahead and even done it for her kid's kids at this age!
    
    PS: Additional links to the news :