Efforts to maintain a ‘just great’ story: Lesbian parents’ talk about encounters with professionals in fertility clinics and maternal and child healthcare services

Malmquist, Anna; Nelson, Karin Zetterqvist

doi:10.1177/0959353513487532

Cited by 44 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 37 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Participants' satisfaction with RHC can be seen as an indication of high-quality medical care and also some level of LGBTQ competent care, implying a certain acceptance of LGBTQ parents in Sweden. Similar to previous studies on same-sex mothers (31), the current study found that participants had mixed feelings regarding being satisfied despite lacking support. Our results indicated that it might be difficult for LGBTQ parents to tell their story about heteronormativity.…”

Section: Satisfaction With Rhc Despite Heteronormativitysupporting

confidence: 86%

LGBTQ competence wanted: LGBTQ parents’ experiences of reproductive health care in Sweden

Klittmark¹,

Garzón²,

Andersson³

et al. 2018

Scandinavian Caring Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background It is the responsibility of reproductive healthcare professionals to support all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) parents in their transition to parenthood. LGBTQ parents may not be fully supported within the reproductive health sector, because of heteronormativity and healthcare professionals’ attitudes and practices. Beyond same‐sex mothers, no research has been conducted in Sweden on the broader group of LGTBQ parents. Aim To explore LGBTQ expectant and new parents’ experiences of reproductive health care in Sweden when becoming parents. Method The current study consisted of cross‐sectional qualitative interviews and was conducted using a semi‐structured interview guide. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using systematic text condensation according to Malterud. Results The convenience sample consisted of 12 LGBTQ expectant or new parents. Four themes emerged from the analysis: (i) Inadequacies and mistreatment in reproductive health care, (ii) Consequences of heteronormativity, (iii) Satisfaction with reproductive health care despite heteronormativity and (iv) Wishing for LGBTQ competent reproductive health care. The first two themes concerned different heteronormative barriers in reproductive health care and the consequences for LGBTQ parents, which also included intersecting forms of judgment and mistreatment. The third theme highlighted the participants’ satisfaction with LGBTQ competent care and aspects of high‐quality care, despite lacking support. The last theme described the participants’ wishes for inclusive and LGBTQ competent care and what reproductive healthcare professionals can do to achieve LGBTQ competence. Conclusions Heteronormativity in the reproductive health sector is widespread and leads to lacking support in the transition to parenthood for LGBTQ people. Swedish reproductive health professionals may benefit from interventions aimed at developing LGBTQ competence. Reproductive healthcare professionals need to develop professional interventions to support and facilitate LGBTQ parents’ transition to parenthood.

show abstract

Section: Satisfaction With Rhc Despite Heteronormativitysupporting

confidence: 86%

LGBTQ competence wanted: LGBTQ parents’ experiences of reproductive health care in Sweden

Klittmark¹,

Garzón²,

Andersson³

et al. 2018

Scandinavian Caring Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This heteronormative view, where everyone is expected to be heterosexual (Connell & Pearse, ), seems to be especially prominent in child healthcare. Previous research has reported that two‐mother families often are met by heteronormative language (Andersen et al, ; Crouch et al, ; Erlandsson et al, ; Malmquist & Zetterqvist Nelson, ; O’Niell et al, ; Röndahl et al, ; Wojnar & Katzenmayer, ). In this study, some nonbirth mothers were called partners, but most nonbirth mothers in our study did not want to be called partners, as they were mothers too.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both international and Swedish studies have shown that two‐mother families experience heteronormativity and stigma in their encounters with healthcare professionals (Andersen, Moberg, & Bengtsson Tops, ; Crouch, McNair, & Waters, ; Erlandsson, Linder, & Häggström‐Nordin, ; Malmquist & Zetterqvist Nelson, ; O’Niell, Hamer, & Dixon, ; Röndahl, Bruhner, & Lindhe, ; Wojnar & Katzenmayer, ). Despite the experienced heteronormativity, Swedish research show a satisfaction in same‐sex mothers relationship quality, few symptoms of anxiety and depression, and low levels of parental stress compared to heterosexual couples (Borneskog, Lampic, Sydsjö, Bladh, & Skoog Svanberg, ; Borneskog, Sydsjö, Lampic, Bladh, & Skoog Svanberg, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mothers in same‐sex relationships—Striving for equal parenthood: A grounded theory study

Engström

Häggström‐Nordin

Borneskog

et al. 2019

Journal of Clinical Nursing

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aims and objectives To get a deeper understanding of how mothers in same‐sex relationships think and reason about their parenthood in terms of gender equality, and how they experience early parental support from child healthcare professionals. Background There is an increasing amount of research on how women in same‐sex relationships experience healthcare services when forming a family. Yet there is limited knowledge of what kind of early parental support these women may request. Design Grounded theory. Follows guidelines for qualitative research (COREQ). Method Twenty women ranging from 25 to 42 years of age participated in semi‐structured interviews. Data collection and analysis took place in parallel, as recommended in grounded theory methodology. Results The results are described by the core category Same‐sex mothers request professional support to achieve equal parenthood, which includes five categories: (a) equality in everyday life, (b) diversity in mother and child attachment, (c) justification of the family structure, (d) ambivalent thoughts about their child's future and (e) a special need for networking and request for professional support. These findings provide a deeper understanding of how same‐sex mothers experience their parenthood and the parental support that is offered. Conclusion Child healthcare professionals need to be sensitive and recognise both mothers as equal parents and offer early parenting groups where two‐mother families feel included and supported. Relevance to clinical practice Healthcare professionals need to be aware of diverse family formations and meet each parent as a unique individual without heteronormative assumptions. Same‐sex mothers must be treated as equal parents and acknowledged as mothers. Healthcare professionals should offer inclusive and supportive parental groups to same‐sex families. They should also inform and support nonbirth mothers about the possibility to breastfeed.

show abstract

“…In particular, this statement emphasizes that the definitions of family should be inclusive of all family formations and that health education programs should incorporate LGBT health issues to create a safe and non-judgmental space for SMW in healthcare settings. Despite these endorsements, SMW continue to experience stigma and discrimination in clinical settings (Malmquist and Nelson 2013) and have unmet medical needs (Everett and Mollborn 2014). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual Orientation Disparities in Pregnancy and Infant Outcomes

Everett

Kominiarek

Mollborn

et al. 2018

Matern Child Health J

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objectives Little is known about maternal and infant health among sexual minority women (SMW), despite the large body of research documenting their multiple preconception risk factors. This study used data from the 2006-2015 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) to investigate sexual orientation inequities in pregnancy and birth outcomes, including miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm birth, and birth weight. Methods Women reported 19,955 study eligible pregnancies and 15,996 singleton live births. Sexual orientation was measured using self-reported identity and histories of same-sex sexual experiences (heterosexual-WSM [women who only report sex with men]; heterosexual-WSW [women who report sex with women]; bisexual, and lesbian). Logistic regression models were used that adjusted for several maternal characteristics. Results Compared to heterosexual-WSM, heterosexual-WSW (OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.00-1.58) and bisexual and lesbian women (OR 1.77, 95% CI 1.34-2.35) were more likely to report miscarriage, and bisexual and lesbian women were more likely to report a pregnancy ending in stillbirth (OR 2.85, 95% CI 1.40-5.83). Lesbian women were more likely to report low birth weight infants (OR 2.64, 95% CI 1.38-5.07) and bisexual and lesbian women were more likely to report very preterm births (OR 1.84, 95% CI 1.11-3.04) compared to heterosexual-WSM. Conclusions for Practice This study documents significant sexual orientation inequities in pregnancy and birth outcomes. More research is needed to understand the mechanisms that underlie disparate outcomes and to develop interventions to improve sexual minority women's maternal and infant health.

show abstract

Efforts to maintain a ‘just great’ story: Lesbian parents’ talk about encounters with professionals in fertility clinics and maternal and child healthcare services

Cited by 44 publications

References 37 publications

LGBTQ competence wanted: LGBTQ parents’ experiences of reproductive health care in Sweden

LGBTQ competence wanted: LGBTQ parents’ experiences of reproductive health care in Sweden

Mothers in same‐sex relationships—Striving for equal parenthood: A grounded theory study

Sexual Orientation Disparities in Pregnancy and Infant Outcomes

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About