PARENTING AND FAMILY PLANNING:

Overview:

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, and asexual (2SLGBTQIA+) people have been parents to biological children, adoptive/foster children, caregivers to children, and provided support/love to those 2SLGBTQIA+ youth and others rejected by their own families of origin. Family Equality provides a “very brief history” in October 2017: https://www.familyequality.org/2017/10/20/a-very-brief-history-of-lgbtq-parenting/  In addition to parenting, 2SLGBTQIA+ people have also provided care to their family’s children and youth as extended family members (e.g., aunts and uncles). The growth of 2SLGBTQIA+ parent-headed families over the last four decades has provided an increase in 2SLGBTQIA+ family planning and parenting resources available to parents and parent hopefuls.

Those in relationships and individuals may have questions or concerns regarding starting a family or parenting, and some of these concerns can be difficult for couples to discuss without an argument. For example, differences in perhaps one of the members in a relationship/s having a strong desire to be a parent while the other does not, the age of the child, reproductive costs, or parenting skills/strategies. This is when the benefit of having a specialist in 2SLGBTQIA+ families and parenting can support those in relationships in coming to an agreement or in settling their differences.

 Types of Family Planning Issues:

• IVF issues

• Surrogacy

• Egg and/or Sperm Donation

• Legal Concerns

• Financial Concerns

• Adjustment Disorder with Depression

Types of Parenting Issues & Symptoms:

• Increased Parental Non-Compliance

• Divorce or Separation

• Increased Family Arguments

• Increased Parental Arguments

• Decreased Family Cohesion

• Less Time Together (isolation)

•  Poor Parenting Skills

• Tough Topics (e.g., sex education, coping with anti-2SLGBTQIA+ discrimination, how to educate your children about such events, racism, family story development)

Resources:

Financial Assistance Programs for Family Planning:

https://www.menhavingbabies.org/assistance/

https://simplesurrogacy.com/simple-surrogacy/gay-parenting-assistance-programs-gpap/

https://www.familyequality.org/resources/lgbtq-family-building-grants/

LGBT Parenting Resources:

https://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/parenting

https://www.familyequality.org/

https://www.hrc.org/resources/professional-organizations-on-lgbt-parenting

Children of 2SLGBTQIA+ Parents:

Children of lesbian and gays https://www.colage.org/

Children with 2SLGBTQIA+ parents: https://www.familieslikemine.com/