Surrogates at greater risk of new mental illness than women carrying own babies, study finds

The study’s lead author said the findings might suggest some surrogates ‘may experience grief from relinquishing their newborn’. Photograph: Posed by model; petrenkod/Getty Images

Surrogates have a greater chance of being newly diagnosed with a mental illness during and after pregnancy than women who carry their own offspring, researchers have found.

In addition, regardless of how they conceived, women with a previous record of mental illness were found to have a higher risk of being diagnosed with such conditions during and after pregnancy than those without.