Preference of Surrogate Mother - Essay Example

Article Critique - Surrogate Mother Prepares for No. 8 & Government May Ban Fast Food near Schools - Course Date Article I – Total Number of Words: 537 Article II – Total Number of Words: 524 Article I: ‘Surrogate mother prepares for eighth baby’ by Katy Hasting The statement of Robin Carter who works for Cots stating that “there is no way of knowing whether multiple pregnancies could be damaging to Miss Hawkins’ mental health” is not acceptable. The truth is that there are a lot of adverse physical, mental and psychological effects attached with surrogacy among the surrogate mothers and the development of the baby. According to the British Medical Association (1996), abandoning and surrendering a child whereby the surrogate mother has carried in her womb for a total of nine months can be emotionally distressing. There are also cases whereby extreme emotional distressed could lead to psychological problems causing them to have the tendency to commit suicide. Medical studies show that it is possible for the surrogate mother to develop a special bond with the baby during the entire prenatal period. (Jadva et al., 2003) The fact that the surrogate mother would surrender the baby to the commissioning parents in exchange for money could eventually develop either guilt or anger on the part of the surrogate mother. Aside from the possibility of causing psychological problems in the child’s psychological development, surrogacy could damage Jill’s relationship with her own family circle and friends. (McWhinnie, 2001; Daniels & Taylor, 1993) Basically, the long-term unresolved guilt combined with the possibilities of social judgement coming from family, friends and neighbours who are against surrogacy could negatively affect the mental well-being of the surrogate mothers. (Blyth, 1994) In the case of Jill Hawkins, it is impossible for her not to feel any negative emotions such as depression, anxiety or extreme sadness caused by losing a child. It is easy for her to say that ‘she loves being pregnant and is proficient at giving birth’ but deep inside, she is emotionally affected with her decision of having to give up a child to other people. In fact, most of the women who had decided to engage themselves in surrogacy are most likely triggered by their financial difficulties. (Brazier, Campbell, & Golombok, 1998) If Miss Hawkins is not experiencing the need to earn a little money, it is more likely for her to desire having her own family and children. Due to the fact that some of the surrogate mother choose to distance themselves with the unborn baby could unconsciously put the physical health of both the surrogate mother and the baby at risk. (British Medical Association, 1996; Ragoné, 1994) Even though most of the surrogate contact prohibits the surrogate mother to drink alcohol or to smoke, some surrogate mothers would choose to violate the contract due to excessive emotional burden they have to go through during the entire pregnancy period. The general practitioner said that there is no reason why Jill could not go through the pregnancy. (Hastings, 2008) The fact that Jill’s twins recently died during her ninth week pregnancy period is enough to develop fear of another fetal death. (Panuthos & Romero, 1984) Although it is also possible that another pregnancy could provide Jill the opportunity to heal and build strength from her previous traumatic birth experiences (Gardner, 2003), there is still a chance that Jill may go through a more serious level of depression. Article II: Government May Ban Fast Food near Schools by Rosa Prince The main reason behind the UK government’s effort to ban the fast food establishments close to the vicinity of school, park and nurseries is good. However, banning the fast food chains near schools and parks is not always the best solution to fight the problem on childhood obesity. Even if the government insist that the marketing communication and the establishments of fast food restaurants be banned in school areas, these children will still find a way to satisfy their cravings for junk foods. Personally, the best solution I could think of is the promotion of health education within the school and the entire community. By making each person aware of the consequences of what they eat, these people would likely think twice on purchasing junk foods to satisfy their hunger. In general, depriving a person with something that satisfies his food preferences would only make the person want more. As a result, it is possible for some children to grab as many junk foods as they could get once they get the opportunity to get close to the fast food restaurants. Therefore, banning the fast food establishments close to school areas is not addressing the main cause of obesity throughout the United Kingdom. Aside from the proper promotion on health education, the government should shift their focus on the importance of physical activities more than depriving the children with foods offered by fast food restaurants. It is a common knowledge that what we eat is not always the main cause of obesity. Physical activities play a crucial role on fighting the high levels of childhood obesity. In fact, this is one of the main reasons why not all people who eat at fast food restaurants are neither fat nor obese. Even without the presence of the fast food restaurants close to these children, there is still a risk for children to become over weight due to lack of physical activities that could burn off the calories they had consumed for the day. The lifestyle of most children today is very much different from the kind of life children live many years ago. Most children now-a-days are better off playing with their computer games the whole afternoon. In other words, it is the lack of proper physical exercise that makes the younger generation more prone to obesity. Instead of exerting so much effort on banning the fast food restaurants close to the school areas, the government should promote the root cause of childhood obesity. In general, the problem of childhood obesity can also be psychological. It is possible that the parents of obese children were not responsible enough to cut down on the food intake of these children while they were still young. In the end, these children thinks that they need to consume more food that what their body requires. Aside from the importance of promoting proper health education and physical activities within and outside the school environment, the local government should also see to it that other more affordable healthy foods are available close to these children. References: Blyth, E. (1994). I Wanted to be Interesting. I Wanted to be Able to Say Ive Done Something Interesting with my Life. Interviews with Surrogate Mothers in Britain. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology , 12:189 - 198. Brazier, M., Campbell, A., & Golombok, S. (1998). Surrogacy: Review for Health Ministers of Current Arrangements for Payments and Regulation. London: Department of Health. BritishMedicalAssociation. (1996). Changing Conceptions of Motherhood. The Practice of Surrogacy in Britain. London: British Medical Association. Daniels, K., & Taylor, K. (1993). Secrecy and Openness in Donor Insemination. Politics Life Science , 12:155 - 170. Gardner, P. S. (2003). Previous Traumatic Birth: An Impetus for Requested Cesarean Birth. Journal of Perinatal Eudcation , 12(1):1 - 5. Hastings, K. (2008, January 21). Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved March 21, 2008, from Surrogate Mother Prepares for Eighth Baby: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/01/21/nsurrogate121.xml Jadva, V., Murray, C., Lycett, E., MacCallum, F., & Golombok, S. (2003). Surrogacy: the Experiences of Surrogate Mothers. Human Reproduction , 18(10):2196 - 2204. McWhinnie, A. (2001). Gamete Donation and Anonymity. Should Offspring from Donated Gametes Continue to be Denied Knowledge of their Origins and Antecedents? Human Reproduction , 16:807 - 817. Panuthos, C., & Romero, C. (1984). Ended Beginnings: Healing Childbirth Losses. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Corp. Prince, R. (2008, January 21). Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved March 21, 2008, from Government May Ban Fast Food Near Schools: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/01/21/nobese121.xml Ragoné, H. (1994). Surrogate Motherhood: Conception in the Heart. In Jadva V., Murray C., Lycett E., MacCallum F. and Golombok S. (eds) Surrogacy: the Experiences of Surrogate Mothers . Read More