Blake et al.44 Blake L, Carone N, Raffanello E, Slutsky J, Ehrhardt AA, Golombok S. Gay fathers’ motivations for and feelings about surrogacy as a path to parenthood. Hum Reprod. 2017;32(4):860-7. https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/dex026 https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/dex026...
|
74 gay fathers |
The United States |
Qualitative |
Surrogacy |
*Average age was 47.2 years 98% university or above *A high income |
*Some of the gay couples who chose surrogacy as a path to parenthood received negative feedback about the ethical dimensions of surrogacy. *Negative attitudes before the birth changed into positive ones after birth. |
Lindheim et al.55 Lindheim SR, Madeira JL, Ludwin A, Kemner E, Parry JP, Sylvestre G, et al. Societal pressures and procreative preferences for gay fathers successfully pursuing parenthood through IVF and gestational carriers. Reprod Biomed Soc Online. 2019;9:1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rbms.2019.09.001 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rbms.2019.09.0...
|
78 gay couples |
The United States |
Cross-sectional |
Surrogacy, IVF |
*44.7% aged between 40 and 49 years * 76.6% were university graduates and 69.9% had high income |
*Parents received negative reactions of their children/society about their family structures. *Participants faced with difficulties in their professional life after becoming parents, such as use of annual leave and changes in working hours. *Children of the participants were disappointed for not having a mother. After explaining about their unique family structures, participants asked their children to choose one of the parents as mother. |
Erera and Engelchin1717 Erera PI, Segal-Engelchin D. Gay men choosing to co-parent with heterosexual women. J GLBT Fam Stud. 2014:10(5);449-74. https://doi.org/10.1080/1550428X.2013.858611 https://doi.org/10.1080/1550428X.2013.85...
|
9 gay fathers |
Israel |
Qualitative |
Pregnancy with heterosexual relationship |
*Age ranged from 35 to 56 years *8 is high education *Economic status (2 poor, 7 good) |
*Respondents stated the importance of the presence of both father and mother for their children. *Most of the respondents underlined the functions of mothers in raising their children, including affection, care, and love. Due to this reason, they formed a family with a co-parent biological mother. |
Bergman et al.1515 Bergman K, Rubio RJ, Green RJ, Padrón E. Gay men who become fathers via surrogacy: the transition to parenthood. J GLBT Fam Stud. 2010;6(2);111-41. https://doi.org/10.1080/15504281003704942 https://doi.org/10.1080/1550428100370494...
|
40 gay fathers |
The United States |
Qualitative |
Surrogacy |
*Age ranged from 27 to 52 years *No data on education level. *37 respondents had a mean annual income of US$270,000. |
*Parenthood brought losses and missed opportunities in the work lives of most of the participants. *After having children, frequency of business and leisure travels decreased and travels mostly involved visits to families of origin and domestic family-oriented trips. *Relationship with families and self-esteem improved after the participants became fathers. *Participants felt themselves more valuable after becoming fathers. |
Goldberg1616 Goldberg AE. The transition to parenthood for lesbian couples. J GLBT Fam Stud. 2006;2(1):13-42. https://doi.org/10.1300/J461v02n01_02 https://doi.org/10.1300/J461v02n01_02...
|
29 lesbian couples |
The United States |
Mixed method |
IVF |
*Mean age of biological and nonbiological mothers was 35 and 37.7 years *Most were highly educated *Mean annual income was US$100,600. |
*41% stated that the desire to experience pregnancy and childbirth and have a biological connection to the child were determining factors in their decisions. *Most couples found it relatively easy to decide on who would carry the children. Fertility reasons, health, career plans, and age of the couples influenced their decisions. *Perceived family support increased after the transition to parenthood. |
Forenza et al.1919 Forenza B, Dashew BL, Bergeson C. LGB+ Moms and dads:“My Primary Identity… is Being a Parent”. J GLBT Fam Stud. 2019:1-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/1550428X.2019.1688215 https://doi.org/10.1080/1550428X.2019.16...
|
4 lesbian, 1 bisexual, and 4 gay parents. |
The United States |
Qualitative |
Adoption |
* No data on age, education, and income levels of the participants |
*Legal regulations were the primary obstacles for their parenthood. * After becoming parents, participants de-emphasized their LGB+ identities in favor of self-categorization as a parent. |
Bos et al.2222 Bos HM, Van Balen F, Van den Boom DC. Experience of parenthood, couple relationship, social support, and child-rearing goals in planned lesbian mother families. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2004;45(4):755-64. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00269.x https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004...
|
100 lesbian and 100 heterosexual families |
Netherlands |
Qualitative |
… |
* No data on age, education, and income level of the participants |
*Lesbian social mothers reported significantly more than heterosexual fathers that they felt the need to justify the quality of their parenthood. *Lesbian biological mothers were more satisfied with their partner than heterosexual mothers. |
Van Ewyk and Kruger66 Van Ewyk J, Kruger LM. The emotional experience of motherhood in planned lesbian families in the South African context:“… Look how good a job I’m doing, look how amazing we are”. J Homosex. 2017;64(3):343-66. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2016.1190216 https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2016.11...
|
10 lesbian couples |
South Africa |
Qualitative |
8 donor insemination, 2 opted for adoption. |
*Age of parents ranged from 25 to 49 years. *Education level: high school to tertiary degree and middle class. |
*Lesbian couples reported a decrease in their sexual activities and socialization after parenthood. * Participants reported that co-parenting alleviated much of stress and prevented exhaustion and that sharing the responsibilities prevented frustration. |
Van Rijn-Van Gelderen et al., 2018 |
38 gay, 61 lesbian, and 41 heterosexual |
The United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands |
Cross-sectional |
Surrogate carriers, sperm donors, and IVF without sperm or egg donation |
* Age ranged from 22 to 59 years. * Nearly two-thirds were employed full time and most families had good income |
*Parents reported low levels of parental stress, anxiety, and depression regardless of family type. *There was no significant difference between the family groups in terms of parental stress, depression, anxiety, partner relationship satisfaction, and caregiver role. *Parents in all family types were satisfied with intimate relationships. |
Faccio et al., 2013 |
14 transsexuals and 14 men |
Italy |
Qualitative |
----- |
*Age ranged between 39 and 58 years *Socioeconomic and education levels were high |
*Most of the parents did not receive help for child care. *Transsexual parents considered themselves as competent parents who spent sufficient time for child care. |
Lévesque et al., 2020 |
19 heterosexual and 4 same-sex couples |
Canada |
Qualitative |
Pregnancy with heterosexual relationship |
*Age ranged from 27 to 49 years *47.8% completed university degree *Majority were employed full time with satisfactory financial situation |
*Participants reported fatigue, lack of sleep, social isolation, financial precariousness, discrimination at work, and balancing work and family life as main difficulties. *Parents spent less time on social activities and families and more time to meet the needs for children. *Lesbians expressed social norms influenced their relations with the children and created anxiety. |
Ryan and Whitlock, 2007 |
96 lesbian parents |
The United States |
Cross-sectional |
adoption |
*Mean age ranged from 41 years to 45 years. *Majority held bachelor’s degree or above *Mean annual income was US$95,000. |
*Major sources of counseling were adoption agencies, friends, adoption books, and social services and the participants found counseling service to be helpful. *Majority of the parents considered adoption process as a positive experience. * Legal sources of information on adoption supported the decision and helped them to feel good. |
Brown et al., 2009 |
183 gay and lesbian parents |
The United States |
Qualitative |
adoption |
*Mean age was 45 years for women and 43 years for men *Majority had bachelor’s degree or above and high annual household income |
*Parents experienced difficulties to access LG adoptive families and felt the need for role models for their children. *Parents struggled with how to address children’s emotional and behavioral difficulties. *Financial difficulties, finding time for family/relationship, and social acceptance were problems. *Parents considered children as the center of their lives and source of joy. *Parents expressed they were supported by their families and friends during the adoption process. |
Peterson et al.4040 Peterson LM, Butts J, Deville DM. Parenting experiences of three self-identified gay fathers. Smith Coll Stud Soc Work. 2000:70(3);513-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/00377310009517608 https://doi.org/10.1080/0037731000951760...
|
3 gay fathers |
The United States |
Qualitative |
Surrogacy, adoption |
*Ages ranged from 30 to 50 years. *Participants had college or university degree *High income |
*Family support and support within workplace were influential on their decisions to become parents. *Although parenthood was exhausting, they expressed that sharing experiences with their children was very important. |
Goldberg3535 Goldberg AE. Gay dads: transitions to adoptive fatherhood (Vol. 6). New York, NY: NYU Press; 2012.
|
84 parents (17 lesbian, 13 gay, and 12 heterosexual) |
The United States |
Qualitative |
Adoption |
*Mean age was 38.5. |
*Legal challenges to adoption were the major problems during the adoption process. *Participants believed that social agencies could help adoptive parents to overcome the problems they experienced during the processes of adoption and preparation to parenthood. |
Jennings et al.3838 Jennings S, Mellish L, Tasker F, Lamb M, Golombok S. Why adoption? Gay, lesbian, and heterosexual adoptive parents’ reproductive experiences and reasons for adoption. Adopt Q. 2014:17(3);205-26. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926755.2014.891549 https://doi.org/10.1080/10926755.2014.89...
|
41 gay, 40 lesbian, and 49 heterosexual parents |
The United Kingdom |
Qualitative |
Adoption |
*Mostly around the age of 40 years *No data on education level *Most were working |
*Parental decision was framed by societal prejudice, both as to whether their children would be discriminated against and whether they as parents would be supported. *Legal changes, visibility of gay and lesbian parents in the media, and the prompts of family and friends encouraged the participants to adopt children. |
McConnachie et al.3939 McConnachie AL, Ayed N, Jadva V, Lamb M, Tasker F, Golombok S. Father-child attachment in adoptive gay father families. Attach Human Dev. 2020:22(1);110-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2019.1589067 https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2019.15...
|
30 gay father, 29 lesbian mother, and 38 heterosexual parent families |
The United Kingdom |
Cross-sectional |
Adoption |
*Mean age was 46 years and above *Education and income levels were relatively high |
*Gay fathers adopted older children compared to heterosexual parents. *Children in gay father families showed greater attachment security due to the characteristics of parents, the characteristics of the children, or the combination of two factors. *Secure-autonomous attachment of the children in gay father families was higher than children in heterosexual parent families. *Gay fathers were lower in depression and parenting stress than heterosexual parents. |
Park et al., 2016 |
24 gay men, 24 lesbians, and 3 bisexual women |
California and Nebraska states of the United States |
Qualitative |
Donor insemination, adoption, surrogacy IVF |
*Mean age was 41 years. *Majority had college degree or above and annual income was high |
* Parents wanted a safe and supportive environment for their children, which could be maintained by balancing the legal conditions with other factors, including job security, connection to family and friends, and a desire to create social change. *Participants reported their plans to move to another state, which had more legal protections for same-sex families. *Majority of the couples in both states were supported by their families, but only a few families were not supported their decision to parenthood. |
Gartrell et al.3737 Gartrell N, Rothblum ED, Koh AS, Van Beusekom G, Bos H. “We Were Among the First Nontraditional Families”: Thematic Perceptions of Lesbian Parenting After 25 Years. Front Psychol. 2019:10;2414. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02414 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02414...
|
131 lesbian parents |
The United States |
Qualitative |
Donor insemination |
*Mean age was 59.8 years *Most had a college degree or higher education and were employed full time |
Distress about their children’s experience of exclusion, nonacceptance of lesbian parent family by their family of origin, homophobia or hostility toward their nontraditional families, and lack of legal protections were the most challenging parenthood experiences of lesbian parents. *Other difficulties included dissatisfaction with the role of known donor in the family and disregarding the co-mother as parent. |