“I Just Want To Live”: A Pregnant Surrogate In Ukraine Speaks Out

^{Kharkiv, Ukraine: 13 March, 2022
Photo by Fotoreserg}

The day before war broke out in Ukraine, 33-year-old Tanya [name changed to protect identity] was visiting a hospital in Cherkasy, a city in the center of the country, to check on the health of her unborn twins. She was unable to return to her hometown near Kirovograd due to the ongoing violence and quickly moved to an apartment in the city with her husband and two children. 

"I started getting severe pregnancy sickness (hyperemesis) just as the war started," Tanya says over the phone from Ukraine. "I’m now almost 10 weeks pregnant and I’ve struggled to eat anything or cook and care for my children properly because it’s so bad, which has made things even more difficult. I just hope I can stay where I am until I have the babies." 

Being pregnant in a war zone is a terrifying prospect for anyone but Tanya’s situation is more complicated than most. She is one of approximately 1,000 surrogates in Ukraine who are currently pregnant with the...