Desire for Parenthood and Associated Trends in Czech Lesbian Women

Abstract

Introduction Worldwide, there are more lesbians who chose to have children in the context of a same-sex relationship than ever before. The Czech studies focusing on this issue, including the analysis of methods of conception, are limited. Aim We aimed to examine the changes over time in the desire of Czech lesbian women for children and to analyze their chosen methods of conception. Methods We analyzed retrospectively the personal history of lesbian patients who visited our clinic in the period from 2009 to 2017. Our sample (n = 318) was divided into 2 groups: Group A – our patients between 2009 and 2013, whereas group B comprised our patients from 2013 to 2017. Main outcome measures The outcome of this study is comparing groups A and B, regarding factors associated to parenthood, such as desire to have a child and preferences in methods of conception. Results We compared group A and group B and obtained the following results: The percentage of homosexual women who did not desire to have a child decreased (22.5% vs 15.6%). Regarding the changes in the preferences in methods of conception among group A and group B, the findings are as follows: a child from a previous relationship (31.2% vs 27.4%), clinically assisted reproduction with an anonymous donor (19.6% vs 30.1%), home intrauterine insemmination with a known donor (24.6% vs 19.2%), clinically assisted reproduction with a known donor (13.1% vs 9.6%), coitus outside the relationship for the purpose of a child conception (9.8% vs 5.5%), home intrauterine insemmination by sperm from an anonymous donor (1.6% vs 4.1%), assisted reproduction performed abroad was selected only in group B (2.7%). Conclusions We confirm that the percentage of Czech lesbians who have a child or want to have a child has increased and that several variables regarding the desire for parenthood in the Czech lesbian community are changing over time (eg, methods of conception) mostly in concordance with other Western European countries. Turcan P, Prochazka M, Prochazka P, et al. Desire for Parenthood and Associated Trends in Czech Lesbian Women. Sex Med 2020;8:650–659.

Desire and motivation for parenthood during the COVID-19 pandemic: A comparison of cis-gender minoritized sexual identities with cis-heterosexual individuals living in Germany

“…To compare, the general desire for parenthood was 87.2% in German and 92.3% in Chinese participants in a study sampling 13498 students (40). Similar to our results, a study on Czech lesbians sampled between 2013 and 2017 indicated that 15.6% of the participants did not desire parenthood (41). In a study from the United States, 52.0% of gay men and 41.0% of lesbian women without children reported wanting to become a parent (42).…”

Parenting Desires and Sexual Identities

“…Gay men therefore might be less likely from the very outset to give any consideration to the idea of becoming a parent. A study by a private healthcare facility [Turcan et al 2020] mapping the increase in the desire to become a parent among lesbian women after registered partnerships were introduced in the legislation (in 2006) showed that lesbian women often adopt the strategy of having 'a fictitious partner'. This strategy is a way for lesbian women to legally undergo IVF.…”

Rodičovské plány a cesty k rodičovství gayů a leseb

“…I když musí gayové a lesby v Česku stále ještě překonávat celou řadu legislativních, společenských a ekonomických bariér na cestách k rodičovství, pro řadu z nich už není založení homoparentální rodiny nemyslitelné, jak ukázaly již i předchozí studie z nedávné doby (např. Kadlecová a Kutálková 2020; Turčan et al 2020;Nešporová 2021). Neznamená to, že by mezi lidmi s neheterosexuálními identitami k tranzicím do rodičovství v rámci partnerství mužů a žen nedocházelo.…”

“…V praxi však lesby kliniky asistované reprodukce s fiktivními partnery využívají (např. Turčan et al 2020). Náhradní mateřství (surogace, kdy žena porodí -zpravidla jí geneticky cizí -dítě páru, který se stává dítěti rodičovským) v ČR sice zakázáno není, česká legislativa ho ale ani přímo neřeší (Honzová et al 2020).…”