Counselling lesbian couples: requests for donor insemination on social grounds

Abstract

Fertility centres are increasingly involved in dealing with requests from lesbian couples for donor insemination (DI). Data were collected on 95 Belgian lesbian couples who applied for DI. The majority of couples were well integrated in a social environment (family, friends and work) that consisted mainly of heterosexuals. They tended to be open about their homosexuality and most couples considered the social environment to be tolerant towards their homosexual orientation. Couples who considered alternatives to DI would have liked to have had more information on the donor and were more inclined to introduce a 'godfather' who would take special interest in the child. Couples who considered DI to be the best solution considered the absence of a father to be less of a problem for the child and wished to have no information at all as regards the donor. Approximately half the couples considered their family a two-mother unit. For the other couples, the family unit consisted of a mother and her partner who shared parental responsibility for the child equally. The issues that are considered important to cope with and on which lesbian couples should be counselled are presented in the discussion.

Motives and Decisions for and Against Having Children Among Nonheterosexuals and the Impact of Experiences of Discrimination, Internalized Stigma, and Social Acceptance

“…Consistent with the research of Herrmann-Green and Gehring (2007) and Baetens (2002), the results from this study suggest that internalized stigma of sexual minority members is generally low. In this study no significant differences between mothers and childless women were found, unlike the findings of the study by DeMino and colleagues (2007).…”

“…Lesbian mothers and their partners have to contend with coming out publicly in most social contexts. Although studies show that these women generally exhibit low levels of internalized homophobia (i.e., internalized stigma as a result of sexual orientation) (Baetens, 2002;HerrmannGreen & Gehring, 2007), a comparative study involving lesbian mothers and childless lesbian women found that mothers nonetheless scored higher with regard to internalized homophobia compared to those who were childless. Despite receiving more support from their family of origin, these mothers received less social support from their heterosexual and nonheterosexual friends (DeMino, Appleby, & Fisk, 2007).…”

Perinatal Mental Health in Lesbian Mothers: A Review of Potential Risk and Protective Factors

“…However, the proportion of lesbians who choose to parent and have a previous history of depression is unknown. Since some clinics will not inseminate a woman (lesbian or heterosexual) who meets criteria for a psychiatric disorder at the time of the insemination request (Baetens, Camus, & Devroey, 2002), rates of major depression in lesbians undergoing medically-assisted donor insemination may be lower than rates in the total population of lesbian and bisexual women.…”

Donor insemination and parenting: Concerns and strategies of lesbian couples. A review of international studies

“…About half of the couples regarded themselves as a two‐mother unit, the remaining couples as one mother and one other parent (11). In English‐speaking countries, the child in nine out of 10 families called the respective parents mommy/mama or mommy‐first‐name.…”