“Who are surrogate mothers?”: Rethinking motherhood in Russia in the context of assisted reproductive technologies

The development of assisted reproductive technologies, especially surrogacy, requires a reevaluation of motherhood and an understanding of how gestational motherhood fits into kinship structures since motherhood has transcended the boundaries of the “mother-­child” dyad and expanded into the system of “surrogate mother-­child-biological mother”, which has shaken the traditional foundations and meanings of this seemingly stable and unshakeable construct. This new reality questions the essence of motherhood and creates new roles within it, primarily determining the question: who are “surrogate mothers”? This question consists of two levels: the social portrait of the surrogate mother and her status. The social portrait will help to understand who becomes a surrogate mother and why; the authors attempt to define a range of demographic criteria (age, place of residence, marital status, level of education, etc.) and personal traits that enable a woman to fulfill this complex role. Concerning social status, the authors attempt to understand the role of surrogate mothers in public consciousness and how the actors involved (surrogates, biological parents, reproductive specialists) perceive her place within the structure of kinship. The study consisted of expert interviews with reproductive specialists, psychologists, and recruitment agents (N=6) and a representative survey (N=1300). The data presents a typical surrogate mother as a 25-33-year-­old woman with 1-2 healthy children, often a single mother or remarried, with a vocational education and a low income, frequently residing outside of major cities. Experts describe her psychological profile as “a more relaxed outlook on life”, characterized by simplicity, responsibility and having a clear understanding of her life situation. In public perception, the surrogate mother is not integrated into kinship structures; she temporarily fulfills a role, after which her contractual obligations are complete. In Russia, surrogates are viewed as assistants in addressing infertility, hired to carry and deliver the couple’s genetic child. Both parties often anonymize this arrangement to present a conventional family image and alleviate social pressures on the surrogate.