“It wasn’t ‘let's get pregnant and go do it’:” Decision Making in Lesbian Couples Planning Motherhood via Donor Insemination

Chabot, Jennifer; Ames, Barbara D.

doi:10.1111/j.0197-6664.2004.00041.x

Cited by 108 publications

(128 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…For a couple, this path to parenthood means that the partners have to decide which of them will get pregnant (first), a choice that gives the mothers different parental roles as birth mother and non-birth mother, which must be negotiated (Abelsohn, Epstein & Ross, 2013;Hayman, Wilkes, Halcomb, & Jackson, 2013;Wojnar & Katzenmeyer, 2014; see also Ryan, 2013). Donated semen could be provided through sperm banks and fertility clinics, where the donor is anonymous to the parents and the child (Chabot & Ames, 2004;Donovan & Wilson, 2008;Frith, Sawyer & Kramer, 2012;Nordqvist, 2012Nordqvist, , 2014Vanfraussen, Ponjaert-Kristoffersen & Brewaeys, 2001). Some clinics offer identify-release donors, i.e.…”

Section: Studies On Lesbian Family Life and Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pride and Prejudice : Lesbian Families in Contemporary Sweden

Malmquist

2015

Linköping Studies in Behavioural Science

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To my children, Emil, Nils, Myran and Tove Färgen på barns ögon kommer från arvet, glittret i barns ögon kommer från miljön.The colour of children's eyes comes from nature, the sparkle in children's eyes comes from nurture. AbstractOptions and possibilities for lesbian parents have changed fundamentally since the turn of the millennium. A legal change in 2003 enabled a same-sex couple to share legal parenthood of the same child. An additional legal change, in 2005, gave lesbian couples access to fertility treatment within public healthcare in Sweden. The present thesis focuses on families where two women share legal parenthood of their children. It aims to provide knowledge about lesbian parenting couples and their children, and to focus on the interplay between family members within lesbian families, and between family members and their surroundings. Furthermore, the thesis aims to visualize and analyse notions of heteronormativity and homonormativity in contemporary Sweden. The thesis draws on interviews with 118 parents in 61 families, and 12 children in 11 families. The participants' stories, descriptions, reflections and discourses have been analysed using discursive psychology and thematic analysis.The thesis includes five empirical papers. Paper I focuses on encounters with healthcare professionals prior to and during pregnancy, at childbirth and during the early stages of parenthood. Paper II deals with the participants' experiences of second-parent adoption processes. Paper III focuses on equality in parenting relations. Paper IV focuses on encounters with fertility clinics within public healthcare. Paper V highlights the children's reflections and shows how the children talk about fathers and donors.

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Section: Studies On Lesbian Family Life and Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pride and Prejudice : Lesbian Families in Contemporary Sweden

Malmquist

2015

Linköping Studies in Behavioural Science

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“…[24][25][26][27] However, even these studies focus almost exclusively on lesbian fertility and lesbian couples who attempt pregnancy through the use of assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs). [28][29][30][31] Pregnancies in this context, however, represent just one segment of the female sexual minority population that is generally white, highly educated, and middle to upper middle class. 30 The limited focus on ART services in studies of lesbians' experiences of pregnancy is problematic for several reasons.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unintended Pregnancy, Depression, and Hazardous Drinking in a Community-Based Sample of Sexual Minority Women

Everett

McCabe

Hughes

2016

Journal of Women's Health

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Context: Unintended pregnancy is a stressful life event with important implications for women's health. Little research has examined sexual minority women's (SMW; lesbian, bisexual, mostly heterosexual) experiences of unintended pregnancy, and no studies have examined the relationship between unintended pregnancy, mental health, and negative coping behaviors in this population. Methods: We used the Chicago Health and Life Experiences of Women (CHLEW) Study (n = 454), a diverse sample of SMW, to examine the relationship between self-reported unintended pregnancy, depressive symptoms, and hazardous drinking. We used generalized linear model-building techniques and adjusted for key sociodemographic controls, as well as unintended pregnancy risk factors, including childhood physical and sexual abuse and age of sexual debut. Results: Twenty-four percent of the sample reported an unintended pregnancy. SMW who reported unintended pregnancies also reported significantly more depressive symptoms and greater risk of hazardous drinking. Adjusting for childhood abuse explained the relationship between unintended pregnancy and depressive symptoms, but not the relationship between unintended pregnancy and hazardous drinking. Conclusions: Unintended pregnancy among SMW is an understudied topic. Our results suggest that unintended pregnancy is not uncommon among SMW and highlight the need for more research to investigate the mechanisms that link unintended pregnancy to depression and to hazardous drinking within this population.

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“…There are several different routes to parenthood that sexual minorities can take, including donor insemination (Bos, 2013;Chabot & Ames, 2004), adoption and fostering (Farr & Patterson, 2013), and surrogacy (Berkowitz, 2013). Scholars have explored how gay men and lesbians decide whether or not to become parents, how they become parents, and how they negotiate their sexual and parent identities (Chabot & Ames, 2004;Lewin, 2009;Mamo, 2007). Extending the existing literature, we ask how legal contexts impact the decision-making process about becoming parents for same-sex couples.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Law Shapes Experiences of Parenthood for Same-Sex Couples

Park

Kazyak

Slauson-Blevins

2015

Journal of GLBT Family Studies

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The authors wish to thank Kimberly Tyler, Julia McQuillan, and Helen Moore for their helpful comments and suggestions. We also thank the families who generously shared their stories. Abstract Gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) parents are increasingly common and visible, but they face a number of social and legal barriers in the United States. Using legal consciousness as a theoretical framework, we draw on data from 51 interviews with GLB parents in California and Nebraska to explore how laws impact experiences of parenthood. Specifically, we address how the legal context influences three domains: the methods used to become parents, decisions about where to live, and experiences of family recognition. Law and perception of the law make some pathways to parenthood difficult or unattainable depending on state of residence. Parents in Nebraska, where laws are less supportive, discussed having to "work within the system" available to secure their families while those in California described living in "a bubble" that gave same-sex parents legal protections less available in other parts of the country. Policy and clinical implications of these findings are discussed. How Law Shapes Experiences of

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“It wasn’t ‘let's get pregnant and go do it’:” Decision Making in Lesbian Couples Planning Motherhood via Donor Insemination

Cited by 108 publications

References 22 publications

Pride and Prejudice : Lesbian Families in Contemporary Sweden

Pride and Prejudice : Lesbian Families in Contemporary Sweden

Unintended Pregnancy, Depression, and Hazardous Drinking in a Community-Based Sample of Sexual Minority Women

How Law Shapes Experiences of Parenthood for Same-Sex Couples

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