# Surrogacy in Ukraine X Alcohol Abuse (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome...??)



## Want-a-baby (Apr 23, 2010)

Hello ladies, I'm considering Ukraine for gestational surrogacy, especially Intersono, which sounds very professional in all their e-mails and also has excellent customer reviews here on FF  . However, I must admit that I am somewhat concerned  about the alcohol consumption among the Ukrainian population, especially the young ones (a surrogate mother has to be relatively young - up to 35 yo or so). I copied and pasted below part of the article which caused such concern (am I freaking out?). I have close relatives who are physicians and they say (I also confirmed on the internet) that any alcohol consumption is dangerous during pregnancy thus having the potential to cause the dreaded fetal alcohol syndrome. Please, I would like to ask you, kind ladies, if anyone has ever discussed this matter further with a clinic in Ukraine and what did they tell you in terms of reassurance? Maybe a strict surrogate mother selection? Thorough psychological testing? I have e-mailed Intersono asking for more information on this matter, but they didn't reply yet. The possibility of having a baby with FAS frightens me, but I sincerely hope  that my fears will turn out undue  . 
Good luck to all    , FM

*Ukraine takes the first place in alcohol consumption among teenagers in the world
Submitted by admin on September 9, 2009 - 3:08 pmNo CommentDrinking Ukrainian youthUkraine takes the first place in the world ratings of alcohol consumption among children and youth, according to the World Health Organization research.In fact, Ukrainian children start drinking alcohol when they are 10 - 13 years old. So, no wonder, that according to the statistics of Ministry of Health of Ukraine about 60% of children poisoning is caused by alcohol. If it goes like this in future, Ukrainians take all chances to become the drunkiest nation on the planet.Especially startles such fact, that 70% of Ukrainian kids have got their first glass of alcohol from their parents.Absence of juridical division into strong alcoholic and low-alcoholic beverages contributes to the development of alcoholism in Ukraine.Meanwhile, there is no difference between strong alcoholic and low-alcoholic drinks from the medical point of view. In fact, the damage from low-alcoholic drinks is not less than from vodka. No wonder, that nowadays beer dependence grows rapidly.Statistics testify, that for the last 10 years the number of persons, which use low-alcoholic drinks regularly grew in 10-12 times. It should be noted that deputies Mykola Tomenko, Natalia Korolevska and Eugen Suslov, proposed amendments in Law of Ukraine "About government control of production and circulation of ethyl spirit, cognac and fruit alcoholic beverages and tobacco". They suggest to limit consumption and sales of low-alcoholic drinks.*

*/links*


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## ewok (Jul 17, 2009)

FM


Thanks for your PM.  Very interesting and useful indeed.  I have been pondering FAS today and wondered if you have had any further thoughts/replies from the clinic?


Ewok


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## Want-a-baby (Apr 23, 2010)

Ewok,
You're welcome  .
As for the Surrogate Motherhood Center of Georgia (SMCG), I'm planning to contact the Italian couple whose baby was born in December/2010 in Tbilisi, according to what their director told me. After several e-mails back and forth, I am quite happy with the information provided. On the other hand, someone posted on the FF Russia thread some information that may be worth a peek (check it out and let me know what you think). 
To the best of my knowledge, there's actually some bad press surrounding Health Care Agency International - HCAI (or New Life Ukraine / Armenia / India) and its owner, although she claims innocence. Since she did not reply to two of my e-mails, the ones which were more inquisitive   (surrogates' recruitment, selection, ages, health issues) I decided to discard HCAI / New Life. At this point, I take into account all red flags along the way  ...! 
Have you already contacted the SMCG?
Best   ,  FM


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## Want-a-baby (Apr 23, 2010)

Just a quick update: I thought I should mention that Intersono has been really wonderful in replying to all my e-mails. The recruitment and selection of surrogate mothers has been thoroughly explained to me and I got really impressed with their level of professionalism and organization. If finances were not an issue, we would definitely go for them. However, since all the money has to be paid until the 27th week of pregnancy and the costs are twice higher than the Surrogate Motherhood Center of Georgia, we will probably be heading to Tbilisi in April. Good luck to all  ,  FM


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