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After giving birth to healthy twins, Mrs A, a young Indian woman, handed them to a US-based couple knowing she was unlikely to see them again.

Dr. Nayana Patel(C) with two surrogate mothers
© AFP

ANAND, (Gujrat) India - "Her parents never knew what she was doing," her mother-in-law confides. "She told them she had a baby boy but he passed away."

Mrs A, 27, is part of India's most prolific family of surrogate mothers, something that although not unlawful has to be kept a secret in this conservative country.

Two sisters and their sister-in-law, Mrs A -- all mothers with their own children -- gave birth to babies last year and passed them to childless couples. Another sister is waiting her turn.

In return for this "noble cause" they earn more than 100,000 rupees (2,250 dollars, 1,860 euros) for each pregnancy, a comparatively huge sum since one of their working husbands earns about five dollars a day.

It will pay for their children's education and home renovations.

But it comes at a cost. For the sake of financial security, the life of India's new breed of professional surrogate mothers means lies, secrecy and often nine months hiding from disapproving eyes.

The births have caused a social shift in the small town of Anand in western Gujarat province. In the last two years, six women in the town, population 150,000, and surrounding villages have acted as surrogates, three of them for US-based Indian couples.

Dr. Nayana Patel
© AFP

Two women are pregnant and seven more have been recruited, yet all are desperate to remain anonymous since fellow villagers might assume "immoral" acts have taken place.

Many women in India are sterilised after having children, but willingness to help other couples and the money it can bring them is changing the attitudes of some.

"My first professional surrogate's husband had lots of problems. They had huge debts then she heard this and said: 'I don't mind doing it'," says Dr Nayana Patel, who runs the Akanksha infertility clinic and is mentor and protector of the women. "They had re-mortgaged their house but she got it back."

She says the programme is for the "upliftment" of Indian women and says the country can become a centre of "reproductive tourism".

India's health industry is already slated to be worth 2.3 billion dollars by 2012 by performing cheap surgery for foreigners.

Patel says she has not received any complaints about the practice but has had many e-mails from the United States and Britain, including white couples, lured by the prospect of a surrogate child for some 225,000 rupees (5,060 dollars) compared with some 40,000 dollars in the US.

A high-profile case of a woman who gave birth to her own grandchildren on behalf of her UK-based daughter in 2004 was responsible for making this tobacco-growing area the surrogate centre of India.

There is no law here now on surrogacy but national guidelines from 2005 are expected to be enshrined in legislation in the next few months, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Dr. Nayana Patel and twin babies
© AFP/File

In addition to expenses, the guidelines state the "surrogate mother would also be entitled to a monetary compensation from the couple" to be decided during talks between the two parties.

Any reservations from Mrs A's family were swept away by the conviction of her ebullient mother-in-law, a former assistant in a hospital gynaecological unit.

"This is the one occupation that gives you one lakh (100,000) rupees," she tells AFP. "A husband at a factory getting 1,000 rupees a month won't pay for household items and education for the children."

Eggs are fertilised before they are implanted in the women. Patel says she will not allow women to use their own eggs, in case they became too emotionally attached to the babies.

"I cried a lot while I gave away the baby," says one of the sisters, Mrs. B, 26, who gave birth to a baby girl for an American couple three months ago.

"I told the couple, I've preserved her for nine months, I have delivered her safely. Now please take care of her and I hope she'll take care of you when she's older."

Mrs B, married with a son and a daughter of her own says she plans to do it again. But she knows there are many who will not approve.

"For nine months she will be totally cut off in another world," says her mother.

"She won't leave the house. When the doctor calls her for consultation she will come here but the family won't come to the house. I have taken responsibility for this."

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