By Kanchan Srivastava
Mumbai : A 30-year-old woman is paying a heavy price for agreeing to become a surrogate mother three times. Shahida Shaikh (name changed) who lives in penury, has lost her uterus, developed health complications and has also been divorced by her husband.
Shaikh who has studied till Std VII rues the day she accidentally met an agent (Shakira) who pushed her into renting her womb two years ago. She was taken to Bandra's Rotunda IVF centre and told that she was doing a noble job by helping a Norway-based couple.
"The agent and Dr Soumya Ramesh said I will be paid Rs2.25 lakh for doing a sacred job of delivering a baby to a childless couple. I agreed as my husband was not supporting me and I had to raise three children," Shaikh, a resident of Chembur, told DNA.
"After a painful procedure for embryo transfer, I was injected (Progesterone) daily. Unfortunately, my first attempt at surrogacy failed in 45 days and I got Rs10,000. The agent took Rs2,000," Shaikh said. "I was asked to rent my womb again. This time, the pregnancy failed in 50 days."
After two bad experiences, Shaikh decided not to compromise with her health again. She refused an 'offer' to become a surrogate mother for the third time. "But the agent said I will have to pay Rs25,000 to the doctor for saying a no. I had no option, but to agree. The doctors made me sign some papers in English, but did not tell me that I was playing with my life," Shaikh said.
The third pregnancy, Shaikh said, was unbearable since the first day.
"I was not able to breathe. I could not even perform any household chores. After I started bleeding in the third month, I was kept at a surrogacy home and at Powai's Hiranandani hospital for almost five months," she said.
DNA has a copy of Shaikh's medical report. It says she had complete placenta previa and placenta accreta during her pregnancy. In her case, the placenta lied completely over the cervix, blocking the baby's way out of the womb. Shaikh was also diagnosed with gestational diabetes.
Her condition worsened in the seventh month. "Dr Anita Soni, gynaecologist at Hiranandani hospital, said I would have to undergo a major surgery to save the baby. She said my uterus would also have to be removed to save my life. I agreed," Shaikh said.
A girl was born to Shaikh in February 2011, but she was not allowed to see her. The hospital also mentioned only four pregnancies (gravidity or the number of times a woman has been pregnant) instead of six in her antenatal records.
The delivery led to other complications. Shaikh's spine was swollen and her back was filled with pus. She was discharged in March without the baby, her uterus and even the promised money. "I got the money in instalments later after the baby was sent to Norway," Shaikh said.
Her woes, Shaikh says, have not ended. Her back is swollen again and she has become very weak. "I joined a catering firm, but lost my job due to frequent visits to the hospital. My eldest daughter, 13, quit school to do the household work. My husband also divorced me because of all this," said a weeping Shaikh.
She wants Rotunda to compensate her. "I was paid Rs15,000 and asked to turn egg donor. I went to do that, but the doctors said I could not," Shaikh said. She did not know that the doctors also performed hysterectomy on her. DNA has a copy of the records.
"They have even asked me to become a surrogacy agent," she said.
Dr Ramesh is on leave till December 30 and remained unavailable for comment. "This was her first successful attempt at a surrogacy case," said Dr Gautam Allahbadia who is MD at Rotunda. "I have a feeling that you plan to sensationalise routine medical life-saving events associated with pregnancy just to get a story published."
He further said: "The obstetric care of the surrogate is delivered at a tertiary care hospital (Dr Hiranandani hospital). Obstetric complications are unrelated to the surrogacy part. The attending obstetrician will be the best person to decide the course of treatment for any obstetric complication to save a patient's life."
Hiranandani hospital PRO Manish Joshi said he will check with Dr Anita Soni - under whose case Shaikh was admitted -and get back.
However, gynaecologists admit that Shaikh was used as a guinea pig. "She had delivered three babies and had two failed surrogacy attempts. Every doctor knows that it is dangerous. The doctors should have aborted the third surrogacy when there was heavy bleeding, but they did not just to make money. It is unethical and inhuman," said a gynaecologist.
High court advocate Vidnyan Davre said surrogacy uses a woman as a baby-producing machine. "Doctors make use of poor, illiterate women without taking their consent. We don't even have a law to regulate this unethical practice," he said.
