29-year-old Svitlana from Kyiv, a mother of two, shared her personal experience of participating in a surrogacy program. According to her, giving birth for money is a common practice, but in Ukraine, it is still viewed with caution.
This is reported by Finway
How Svitlana became a surrogate mother
The woman explained that she first learned about the possibility of becoming a surrogate mother back in 2019. At that time, she and her husband were planning to buy their own home, and financial matters were pressing. The story of another mother that Svitlana saw on social media prompted her decision: she learned about the program, the fees, and the conditions for participation, which encouraged her to seriously consider this opportunity.
“I first learned about such a program back in 2019. My husband and I were looking at options to buy our own home. One day, I saw this program on social media with specified fees and conditions. That’s when I thought that instead of working multiple jobs, denying myself everything, borrowing, and saving for years only to pay it back for a long time, I could join the program and earn that money in a year,” Svitlana shares.
After some time following the birth of her second child, Svitlana began to actively explore surrogacy. She watched videos on TikTok from a woman who had been a surrogate mother twice and learned about the stages, risks, and specifics of the process.
Currently, this is Svitlana’s first pregnancy within such a program, although she had previous unsuccessful attempts to conceive. The program includes several stages: medical examination, preparation for pregnancy, the actual gestation process, childbirth, and the postpartum period. At each stage, there are corresponding payments, the amount of which depends on many factors. On average, according to Svitlana, a surrogate mother receives about $25,000 for the entire cycle.
Legal aspects and reactions from others
Svitlana notes that not everyone in Ukraine views surrogacy positively. She emphasizes that the program is entirely legal and involves signing an official contract that outlines all conditions—from monthly payments for food and clothing to travel compensation for doctor visits and the purchase of medical supplies and examinations.
Svitlana’s main motivation for participating in the program is financial. She openly admits that she wanted to provide her family with a better standard of living, but she also enjoys the opportunity to help others become parents. Some women fear emotional attachment to the child, but Svitlana assures that this issue is resolved at the stage of signing documents: the embryo is not hers, and after birth, the child is handed over to the biological parents. She considers the hormonal changes that may occur after childbirth to be natural physiological processes.
An additional barrier can be the attitudes and support of close ones. Svitlana shared that her husband was aware of her intentions and agreed, as a notarized consent from the husband is required by law to participate in the program. He was concerned about his wife’s health, but ultimately supported her decision, understanding that there are currently few alternatives to earn such an amount. Svitlana’s mother also worried but eventually accepted her choice.
Currently, Svitlana actively maintains a personal blog on social media, where she shares her experiences, discusses the specifics of carrying a child, undergoing examinations, and offers advice to women interested in the surrogacy program. She is in her ninth month of pregnancy and is preparing for childbirth soon.