18 July, 2013

Surrogate mothers underpaid, uncared for

While India emerges as a hub for surrogacy, a study released Wednesday says most surrogate mothers are not properly paid or cared for. The Centre for Social Research says the surrogate mothers are paid only one to two percent of what the commissioning parents pay for a baby.

"The commissioning parents pay anything between Rs.40-45 lakh for a surrogate baby, but these women get barely Rs.2-3 lakh," Ranjana Kumari, director of CSR, said.

According to the study, 46 percent of respondents in Delhi and 44 percent in Mumbai said they received Rs.3-4 lakh for surrogacy while 42 percent in Mumbai and 22 percent in Delhi got Rs.2-4 lakh. Only 26 percent in Delhi said they earned above Rs.4 lakh.

Manasi Mishra, head of the research team which brought out the report, said the women were kept either in hostels or in isolated flats or hotel rooms, out of bounds from their own families.

In many cases, their nutritional or health needs were not taken care of.

"We have seen cases where they have billed the commissioning parents for articles like health drinks but the woman had never even seen a health drink," said Mishra.

"If the woman has a miscarriage or has some health issues after the delivery, she is not taken care of," Mishra added. The researchers also highlighted that touts or middlemen had a big role in the whole business. Nearly 74 percent of surrogate mothers in Delhi and Mumbai said these agents were their primary source of information.

"According to (estimates), surrogacy is an industry worth $2.3 billion," Ranjana Kumari said.

The activists say there is no law on surrogacy.

"Despite the fact that India is becoming a hub for surrogacy, we don't even know if it is legal or illegal because there is no law," Ranjani Kumari said. "We are not against surrogacy, but the unregulated commercial nature it has acquired is a serious issue," she said.

The study adds that nearly 40 percent of the parents who opt for surrogacy are NRIs or foreigners while 60 percent are Indians.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

18.07.2013

Fat mums give birth to fat babies

A new study has found that mums-to-be who gain too much weight early into theirpregnancy are nearly three times as likely to give birth to bigger and fatter babies. 

A study of 172 expectant mothers found thatwomen who gained excessive weight during the first half of pregnancy gave birth to heavier and longer babies with more body fat than babies of women who either did not gain as much weight or put it on later in their pregnancy. 

The results underscore the need to educate expectant mothers about the dangers of early weight gain during pregnancy and importance of healthy eating and exercise, lead author Margie Davenport, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, said. 

"Expectant mothers and health professionals need to be aware of pregnancy weight-gain guidelines and follow them to build a foundation for a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby," Davenport said.

The study included data from 172 healthy, expectant mothers living inLondon, Ontario, between 1995 and 2011. The women were non-smokers with a body mass index of at least 18.5 when they were between 16 and 20 weeks pregnant. A BMI below 18.5 is considered too thin; anything above 25 is considered overweight. 

All women in the study were encouraged to follow a basic exercise program of three to four aerobic workouts a week. They also had access to eating guidelines to promote healthy weight gain during pregnancy. 

Maternal weight gain was scored against the 2009 Institute for Medicine guidelines for pregnancy, comparing data with their pre-pregnancy BMI. 

More than half of the study participants—52 per cent—gained excessive weight during their pregnancies; however, women who gained weight during the first half of their pregnancy were 2.7 times more likely to give birth to bigger, heavier babies. 

These babies also had excessive body fat, greater than 14 per cent. 

The study is published in the peer-reviewed journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

18.07.2013

Knowing what’s right doesn’t mean much unless you do what’s right

Theodore Roosevelt