Indian 'baby farms' are thriving as demand from couples from developed countries, including the UK, soars.
Infertile couples are turning to women in India to carry and give birth to their children, as commercial surrogacy is not legal in certain countries, or if it is legal, can be prohibitively expensive. The money these women are earn - as much as £4,700 per pregnancy - is transforming communities.
The Akanksha Infertility Clinic in Anand, a small town in the Indian state of Gujarat, is at the forefront of the commercial surrogacy in India. The treatment at the clinic costs from £17,000 with the surrogate receiving about £4,700 as a fee.
The surrogates generally come from poor backgrounds. In India, about one third of the population lives on less than 75p a day. The clinic started offering surrogacy services about ten years ago, and since then more than 700 babies have been delivered there.
The money paid to women for carrying other people's babies has had a huge economic impact on families in the surrounding villages. Commercial surrogacy became legal in India in 2002 but it is illegal in countries including the UK and Australia. A surrogate cannot legally be paid to carry a child in the UK; only their expenses can be covered. Commercial surrogacy is available in parts of the United States but costs about five times as much as it does in India.
Dr Nayna Patel, the medical director of the Akanksha centre, says that affordability is a factor for foreign couples opting for surrogacy in India, but that it is also popular because Indian doctors and medical technology are well-regarded and the poor rural women generally lead clean-living lifestyles. 'The surrogates are considered trustworthy, committed, and the vices like drugs, smoking, and drinking are not seen amongst women,' says Dr Patel. A British couple, who wish to remain anonymous, used the clinic last year after the wife was left unable to have children following a botched operation at a clinic in London.
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