She gives the example of a 43-year-old librarian from Mumbai studying for a PhD, who cannot give up her studies for pregnancy. “The husband is equally supportive and will pay quite an amount for hiring a surrogate mother,” Dr Tandulwadkar says. “But I have denied the case simply because she does not have any medical ailment.”

Dr Kamini Rao, Director of the Indian Society for Assisted Reproduction, agrees with her. “Medical surrogacy is alright where the woman simply cannot conceive a child or there are medical problems due to which the couple seek help. However it is thumbs down for such couples who opt for surrogate mothers simply because they do not have the time to go through a full-term pregnancy,” she says.