Surrogate dies in childbirth

A woman acting as a surrogate in the UK died shortly after giving birth on New Year's Eve, it has emerged. Natasha Caltabiano, who was 29 and a mother of two, suffered a ruptured aorta and died from a heart attack 90 minutes after the child was born, at St Michael's hospital, Bristol. Natasha had developed high blood pressure during the pregnancy. The baby, a boy, was handed over to the commissioning parents a week after the surrogate's death, and returned with them to their home in Northern Ireland.

Ms Caltabiano became a surrogate after hearing from a friend's sister, who had also done it. While she did not want any more children herself, she felt for others unable to have children. 'She wanted other people to share that joy', said her mother. She designed a website advertising her willingness to help another couple, through which she made contact with the commissioning parents. The 52-year old father visited her a number of times throughout 2003 and 2004, to donate sperm with which she artificially inseminated herself.

The mother of Ms Caltabiano has attacked the system of surrogacy, which she says encourages women to put themselves through the risks of pregnancy. 'Surrogacy caused Natasha's death', she said, adding 'People must realise that childbirth isn't something you enter into lightly. It's still dangerous but that is something surrogacy agencies don't go into'. Surrogacy UK, the agency that had helped with the arrangement, confirmed the 'unfortunate death of one of our surrogate mothers', adding that is 'doing all it can to provide support for everyone involved'. Following Surrogacy UK's rules, the commissioning couple had taken out a life insurance policy on Ms Caltabiano, which is payable to her next of kin. This will be used to buy a home for the existing children, said Ms Caltabiano's mother.

According to newspaper reports, the couple, who already had five adult children between them from previous marriages, are now refusing to pay the bulk of the £8,850 promised as expenses payments to the surrogate. They say that they have incurred huge legal bills because of Ms Caltabiano's death. They sent a letter to be read at Natasha's funeral, but her mother could not bring herself to read it out. 'It was nothing to do with them', she said. Carol O'Reilly, co-founder of Surrogacy UK, said the couple were feeling 'so upset and guilty'. 'We warn all our surrogates about the risks', she said, adding 'Natasha went into the pregnancy with her eyes wide open. I pointed out the risk that she could lose her life and insisted that the receiving couple took out life insurance for her and asked her to write a will'.

Critics have pounced on the tragic story to argue that surrogacy should be banned in the UK. Nuala Scarisbrick, from the pro-life and anti-abortion group Life, said 'it was only a matter of time before a tragedy like this happened', adding 'surrogacy should be banned. It is the exploitation of everyone down the line'.