Fertility specialist suggests famous women are using surrogates and pretending to be pregnant

LA based doctor Vicken Sahakian claims ‘social surrogacies’ are becoming popular

A number of famous women are using surrogates and faking their pregnancies, a leading fertility doctor in the US has suggested.

Los Angeles based doctor Vicken Sahakian said “well-known" and healthy women had used surrogates during a discussion with Jodie Marsh for the documentary Making Babies, broadcast on TLC on Thursday evening.

Dr. Sahakian is the medical director of the Pacific Fertility Center in LA and claims to have performed IVF procedures over 6,000 times, resulting in over 3,000 births. According to the facility’s website, he specialises in treating women with advanced maternal age and is responsible for helping a woman aged 67 give birth.

He alleges a number of his clients have opted for a “social surrogacy”, which involves healthy, fertile women using a surrogate, often in order to continue working without having to pause their careers.

“Typically, these are women who prefer not to get pregnant and not to go though the process of pregnancy for many different reasons,” he explained. “For ­instance, if you are a model or an ­actress and your income is based on performing and how you look, pregnancy will ruin that for a year if not more.”

“If your looks have something to do with your income and if you wait till your late thirties you may have a harder time getting pregnant. If you want to be a parent then you are better off using a surrogate and having your baby, being a mother and a career women at the same time.”

When Marsh asked if he was talking about “well-known people”, he responded: “Yes, of course.”

“I think it would be taboo to say that [you used a surrogate]. I’ve had a couple of patients who actually pretend that they are pregnant, yes.”

Lori Arnold, a fertility doctor based in San Diego, spoke to The Telegraph last year about the increasing number of women turning to social surrogacy and claimed one of her clients included a socialite.

A number of women, including Sarah Jessica Parker and Nicole Kidman, have openly used surrogates to have children because of medical problems preventing them from carrying a baby.