Mary and her family lived in the war zone in Ukraine and needed money to get away.

- We were pressed for it because we had nowhere to live. We discussed the risks, but we were in such a desperate situation.

Anna in Georgia has been a surrogate mother twice. Once for a Swedish couple and once for a couple from Israel.

- It was very difficult to give up the children. The physical pain is relieved over time, but not the emotional one. You continue to live your life with that pain, it cannot be forgotten.

Mary chose to become a surrogate mother when her family needed money. Photo: SVT

The family lost their house

Natalie is pregnant when Assignment Review hits her at New Life's clinic in Georgia. She says that she decided to become surrogate after she and her family lost their house to the bank. Now she thinks time is slow.

- I felt bad for four months, very bad, I was in the hospital for ten days. I couldn't even feel anything during those four months. I could feel nothing but dizziness.

About the child's parents she does not know much.

- They are from Sweden, that's the only thing I know. I haven't really asked or tried to find out. The most important thing is that I reach the ninth month without any problems.

Natalie is pregnant, she is carrying a baby to Swedes. Photo: SVT

Proud to have helped childless couples

Some of the surrogate mothers we speak to have given birth to Swedish couples, others to clinics used by Swedes. We have been in contact with the women through agencies, district court judgments, Russian-speaking colleagues who have searched through online forums, and contacts with women's organizations.

The surrogate mothers all carry their own story, while there are things that are recurring in their stories.

None of the surrogate moms we talk to feel cheated, or treated poorly by the agencies or clinics, and all say they are proud that they have been able to help childless couples.

Lacks housing and jobs

At the same time, it becomes clear that their stories are poorly in line with the image given by the industry at home in Sweden: That the surrogate mothers should have a job, that it should not be a livelihood and that they live their lives as usual with their families.

The surrogate moms we meet are all in need of money when they become surrogate mothers, some are in distress, most lack their own housing and they have no job. Many have been surrogated several times, as the financial problems have persisted even after the first surrogate pregnancy, which is also evident when we visit some surrogate mothers in their homes.

Anna from Georgia says she had a hard time letting go of the children she gave birth to. Photo: SVT

The New Life surrogate agency in Georgia says it's obvious that their surrogate mothers are doing it for financial reasons.

- The majority of our surrogate mothers, they do not work, they are unemployed. So only one to two percent of them have a job, says Sophie Ukleba, coordinator at New Life.

To follow up on how the surrogate mothers feel afterwards is difficult, she says.

- We say they should come and talk to us but they always say no. I think it may be because they try to forget it all.

"I hid in the apartment"

Surrogate motherhood is also not something that is talked about openly in countries like Ukraine and Georgia. Almost all surrogate mothers we talk to are hiding or have concealed their pregnancy. Some for the children, many for neighbors and for the surroundings.

Natalya, whom we meet in eastern Ukraine, says that it was her greatest fear that someone would see her when she was pregnant.

- I didn't go out at all, I stayed at home, waiting for my husband to come home with food and get our son from preschool. I hid in the apartment all the time.

Hear Natalya tell us more in the clip above.

Assignment review report The new surrogate mothers were sent on Wednesday, September 19, 2018 and can be seen on SVT Play. In the report we meet foreign surrogate mothers who carry and give birth to children to others.