Comparison of mothers with normal pregnancy and surrogate uterine in terms of maternal-fetal attachment and feelings of guilt after relinquishment

Abstract

Background : Today, there are several methods in medicine to treat the infertility, and surrogate uterine is one of the new methods. The aim of the current study was to compare the Maternal-Fetal Attachment (MFA) and feelings of guilt of women volunteered to be surrogate mothers at the time of relinquishing the child to the biological parents and those of the women with normal pregnancies. Methods: The present case control study was conducted on 30 women volunteered to be surrogate mothers after the birth of infants and relinquishing to the biological parents from October 2015 to January 2016 and 30 women who had normal pregnancy after childbirth using convenience sampling method. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, Cranley's Maternal-Fetus Attachment Scale, and Test of Self-Conscious Affect. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 21.0., running Levene's test and independent t-test. The significant level was considered as P <0.05. Results: The mean score of maternal-fetal attachment behaviors in women with gestational surrogacy and with normal pregnancy was 89.2±11.35 and 95.9±8.52, respectively ( P =0.02). The means of guilt in women with gestational surrogacy and with normal pregnancy were 65.1±6.64 and 63.7±10.05, respectively ( P =0.12) Conclusion: Maternal-fetus attachment score in surrogate mothers was less than that in normal mothers. The obtained results showed that there was no significant difference in guilt between surrogate and normal mothers. In other words, surrogate mothers did not feel guiltier than normal ones.