A Survey of knowledge and perception of surrogacy among health care providers in selected institutions in Ilorin

Abstract

Background: Surrogacy is a type of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) whereby a third party carry a pregnancy on behalf of another couple, delivers a baby and hands the child to the commissioning parents at birth. Surrogacy is becoming increasingly popular in developed countries with a well-structured legislation and laws. However, surrogacy is a relatively new practice in Nigeria and no legislation are guiding any form of ART in Nigeria. This study aimed to assess the awareness, knowledge, perceptions and attitudes of health workers toward surrogacy.

Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey of Health workers at University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) and University of Ilorin Health Centre. A self administered questionnaire was used to obtain information on the knowledge of surrogacy, perception and attitudes toward surrogacy. Data was analysed using SPSS version 20. A total of 402 health workers of various categories participated in this study.

Results: Majority (85.5%) of respondents had previous knowledge of surrogacy with the commonest source of information being the health facility (33.3%). Less than 20% of the respondents had previously seen a baby born through surrogacy. About two-thirds of respondents (66.7%) opined that the intended mother should be the legal mother of the child in full surrogacy, while 54.2% supported the intended mother being the legal mother in partial surrogacy. Majority of respondents (79.4%) opined that the intended father should be the legal father of the child. Knowledge and awareness of surrogacy among the respondents was high.

Conclusion/Recommendations: There is high level of awareness and knowledge of surrogacy among the respondents. The high level of knowledge and awareness did not reflect in the attitudes and perception toward surrogacy. There is also low acceptability of surrogacy as a means of assisted reproductive therapy among our respondents.