Olaronke Thaddeus, the founder of Meet Surrogate Mothers (MSM) agency; the biggest Surrogacy agency in Africa and has been involved counselling and giving medical advice and remedies to people suffering from infertility. In this interview with YEJIDE GBENGA-OGUNDARE, she speaks on infertility, remedies for women facing challenge of infertility and women in leadership among other issues.
You are known for surrogacy, a strange concept to many Nigerians, what exactly do you do?
We are into providing surrogate mothers to intending parents and we manage the surrogate mother till delivery on behalf of the intending parents. I started MSM in 2014 firstly as a donor agency helping couples with infertility who need to use donor egg or donor sperm to become a parent and extended our services to surrogacy two years after.
Why do you think women are always held responsible for infertility in marriages?
Women are usually at the receiving end of infertility because they are the one with the uterus to conceive babies. Therefore if the obvious protruding belly is not noticed few months after wedding, that is erroneously attributed as women’s fault; leaving out the men. The fact remains that infertility is a couple thing, the problem might be from the man or the woman so it should always be addressed together.
Should infertility be a challenge in this age?
Unfortunately the rate of infertility in this present age is alarming. It is becoming a pandemic because if you put five couples out, one will be affected with infertility. So it is very important not to waste time waiting for so many years before reaching out to hospitals who are specialized in the area of infertility.
How affordable are remedies for the average woman?
Depending on the reason for infertility, the cost will vary. The first step is knowing what the problem is and plan towards getting fund for the treatment. Everything requires planing.
Will you say women are given a chance to reach their potentials in Nigeria?
I think we can be who we want to be in Nigeria regardless of our gender. I have never considered myself as a lower specie. If we have what it takes to take up a position as a woman I think the chance will be given. I see Nigeria as being unbiased in this regard, the only problem I see is many women not stepping forward in all areas that matter.
What inspired you to go into surrogacy?
I saw that this aspect of fertility option needs to be embraced by couples who truly need this because of their medical issue. They need to know where and how to begin once they get the medical pronouncement to do surrogacy. In the past, couples have had to travel to India or USA to do surrogacy because there was no agency that could offer them such services in Nigeria. Our agency has done so much within a short time and the fact that we could be of help to many women and families is our inspiration.
How easy is it to convince people in the face of cultural bias and religious sentiments?
Meet surrogate mothers’ s first approach when we started in 2014 was to educate people to come out of their shell if they need this option of fertility intervention. We have done so much to educate and sensitise people on surrogacy and I think a lot of people can boldly discuss this option now without shame, unlike in the past.
Are Nigerian women really ready for leadership?
Hmmm. I think we are evolving, but we will get there soon. Women are powerful and intelligent beings and I know we can make a positive impact if we are given a role in the government. Yes we are ready for leadership. There are so many women taking the lead in different fields. We are highly intelligent and can multitask.
Are women supporting women?
I am fully supporting my gender and a lot of women are doing the same. We know all our struggles so it is easy to relate with any woman. We can however do more.
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