Professor Charles Kingsland, a British expert, called the trend 'social engineering gone a step too far'. Photo / iStock
Professor Charles Kingsland, a British expert, called the trend 'social engineering gone a step too far'. Photo / iStock
Two fertility doctors claimed yesterday that some women celebrities are secretly using surrogates to avoid the ordeal of childbirth, preserve their careers and retain their flawless figures.
In some instances A-list stars are even faking pregnancies, because they are too embarrassed to tell the truth, while using another woman tocarry and give birth to their child.
Professor Charles Kingsland, a British expert, called the trend 'social engineering gone a step too far'. He said he was aware of celebrities who had used surrogates because they did not have time to have a baby and wanted to avoid the risk of stretch marks.
While the practice is not known in Britain, it is becoming increasingly common in America and has been exposed by Dr Vicken Sahakian, a fertility doctor, who said he had treated a number of high-profile women.
In the past the actresses Sarah Jessica Parker, 50, and Nicole Kidman, 48, have made no secret of the fact that they used surrogates to have babies in their forties. But an increasing number of women celebrities have been pictured snapping back into shape just weeks after giving birth and Dr Sahakian suggested this could be attributed to them choosing to fake their pregnancies.
Dr Sahakian, who is based in Los Angeles and has performed more than 6,000 IVF procedures, told a TV documentary, Making Babies, that he had a number of 'well known' clients who opted for a social surrogacy.
'It would be taboo for them to admit they used a social surrogate,' he said. 'I have had a couple of patients who pretended they were pregnant. Typically these are women who prefer not to get pregnant and not to go through the process of pregnancy for many different reasons. For instance if you are a model or an actress and your income is based on performing and how you look and pregnancy will ruin that for year, if not more.'
Professor Kingsland, a reproductive medicine professor at Liverpool Women's Hospital, said: 'There are one or two celebrities I'm aware of who have had surrogate babies.
'Because they didn't want stretch marks, or they didn't want to go through the pain of pregnancy and delivery, they rent someone else's uterus. I think that's unacceptable. To utilise women to carry babies just for social reasons I think is very debatable.'
