The present article discusses the transformations within the concepts of family in the Western society. These changes are due to (among others reasons) the social position that women have assumed, and to the constitution of a feminine identity based on the fact of becoming a mother. These matters follow the decadence of a patriarchal pattern, which generates discussions regarding a supposed rising of a femininization of culture and the failure of the father role. To these questions recent development of reproductive medicine technologies, and medical interventions upon feminine body can be added, which has provide changes as well as reinforcements to a traditional family model.
Family; maternity; assisted reproduction