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Parenting infants conceived by gamete donation
Susan Golombok1, Emma Lycett, Fiona MacCallum
1Family and Child Psychology Research Centre, City University, London, United Kingdom. S.E.Golombok@city.ac.uk
Insights
Infants conceived via gamete donation (sperm or egg donation) show positive parent-child relationships and emotional involvement. Parents in these families are also more open to disclosing the donor conception to their child.
Area of Science:
- Reproductive Medicine
- Psychology
- Family Studies
Background:
- Concerns exist about gamete donation's impact on parent-child relationships.
- Previous research has not fully explored these dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the psychological well-being of parents and parent-child relationships in families conceived by gamete donation.
- To compare these outcomes with natural conception families.
- To examine parental openness to disclosure.
Main Methods:
- Study included 50 donor insemination families, 51 egg donation families, and 80 natural conception families.
- Standardized interviews and questionnaires assessed parental well-being, parent-child relationship quality, and infant temperament.
Main Results:
- Gamete donation families reported more positive parent-child relationships and greater emotional involvement compared to natural conception families.
- Parents in donor conception families showed increased openness to disclosing the donor conception to their child.
Conclusions:
- Infants conceived by egg or sperm donation do not appear to be at risk for parenting difficulties.
- Gamete donation families exhibit strong parent-child bonds and positive psychological outcomes.
- Increased openness to disclosure is a positive trend in gamete donation families.
Abstract:
In recent years, concerns have been raised regarding the potentially negative consequences of gamete donation for parent-child relationships. Findings are presented of a study of families with an infant conceived by gamete donation. Fifty donor insemination families and 51 egg donation families were compared with 80 natural conception families on standardized interview and questionnaire measures of the psychological well-being of the parents, the quality of parent-child relationships, and infant temperament. The differences that were identified indicated more positive parent-child relationships among the gamete donation than the natural conception parents, accompanied by greater emotional involvement with the child. Comparisons were also carried out between the donor insemination and the egg donation parents on their experiences of gamete donation. In contrast to the findings of earlier investigations, the donor insemination and egg donation parents appeared to be more open toward disclosing the donor conception to the child. It was concluded that infants conceived by egg or sperm donation did not appear to be at risk for parenting difficulties.
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