Lesbian and Gay Fostering and Adoption: Extraordinary Yet Ordinary

Forward by Pat Verity and Geri McAndrew. Edited by Stephen Hicks and Janet McDermott. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 1999, 2000

Key Elements: This body of work contains very personal stories from lesbian and gay fosters and those who have adopted, with information regarding the entire process. The reader should be aware that a number of the issues raised in the text have positively progressed since the book was published; however the seventeen personal accountants from individuals and couples that it contains are timeless. The Editorial Essay provides a lot of factual information on the history of gay and lesbian adopting and fostering.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Queer Parent's Primer: A Lesbian and Gay Families Guide to Navigating the Straight World

Stephanie Brill

Synopsis: Straight talk for Gay parents - a practical guide to parenting challenges

Includes examples and interactive exercises to help you through conflicts, define and protect your family, and celebrate and nourish a proud and loving household

Covers the practical realities of laying a foundation for healthy parenting, coming out once and for all, finding culturally sensitive schools, and making decisions about spirituality and family celebrations.

Also includes a section on special concerns of single parents, the complications of breaking up, and the legal concerns of protecting your family.

 

 

The Ultimate Guide to Pregnancy for Lesbians: tips and techniques from conception through birth

Rachel Pepper. Cleis Press, San Francisco, 2005

Key Elements: Covers everything that a woman needs to think about and be aware of as she approaches the decision to have a baby and/or have a healthy and joyful pregnancy.

There are thirteen chapters which cover the process of pregnancy in great detail, including a number of the unspoken topics of pregnancy.

Chapter One: So you Wanna Be a Mama -getting ready for the ride of your life

Chapter Two: Thinking It over and Making a Plan-what you need to work out before you get started

Chapter Three: Getting Started-Now the Fun Really Begins-conception and fertility

Chapter Four: Getting the Goods-sperm, sperm banks, choosing a donor, money and other options

Chapter Five: Surviving the Roller Coaster - Ten Tips to Keep You Sane - taking care of yourself and your body, finding support, taking time out

Chapter Six: Why am I not Pregnant Yet? - Obstacles to the Path to Parenthood -infertility, treatment, fertility drugs, miscarriage and mourning

Chapter Seven: You're Pregnant-the World of Eating, Sleeping, and Puking-pregnancy the first trimester, the emotional nitty-gritty

Chapter Eight: You're Well Into It Now - Your Second Trimester - the golden/second trimester, medical test, making birth decisions, Partners, changing life circumstances, into the third trimester

Chapter Nine: Self-Esteem and Sexuality During Pregnancy - sexual desire during pregnancy, sexual self esteem, intimacy, sexual questions

Chapter Ten: Into the Home Stretch/ The Last Trimester-taking care of yourself, problems that arise, medical test, naming the baby, congratulations and celebrations

Chapter Eleven: Birth - the Big Event - when it is really time, the excitement, the three stages of labor, dealing with complications, partners become parents too

Chapter Twelve: Holy Cow-What Now?-lesbian motherhood, and the postbirth revelations.

Chapter Thirteen: Resources

It's a Family Affair: the complete lesbian parenting book

Lisa Saffron

The essential guidebook for lesbian mothers and their children in Britain. It includes the experiences of birth mothers, co-parents, step-mothers, single mothers, children, fathers and donors.

Everything you want to know about lesbian parenting - adoption and fostering, step-parenting, homophobia at school, coming out to children, legal recognition of co-parents, fertility awareness, self insemination, anonymous vs known donors; the children's perspective; the law; when self-insemination isn't working; donor insemination through clinics.

 

 

 

 

 

Gay and Lesbian Parenting

Eds: Deborah F. Glazer and Jack Drescher

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gay Men Choosing Parenthood

Gerald P. Mallon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gay Dads: a celebration of fatherhood

David Strah

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For Lesbian Parents: your guide to helping your family grow up happy, healthy and proud

Suzanne M Johnson and Elizabeth O'Connors. The Guilford Press, 2001

Key Elements: Focuses on couples, parenting and family issues from a lesbian perspective with valuable food for thought on what to consider when becoming a lesbian parent.

Part One: Has two chapters that look at lesbian mothers, who they are and the do and don't for lesbian mothers, what you have to be prepared for as a lesbian parent.

Part Two has seven chapters that explore the transition from couple to family, helping children to better understand the family they are in, dealing with others (including professionals and schools) and helping children to deal with them. Part three also includes a section on religion and spirituality which includes how to shop around for a church, helping children to understand religion, and questions if there is a place for lesbians in traditional religion.

Part Three has three chapters that provide information on gender, sexuality, diversity, and homophobia, including information about Barbie Girl and Macho Boy Syndrome and a look at Lesbian Male Basher and ask the question will children of lesbian mothers be gay.

Part Four has three chapters focusing on breaking up, lesbian step families, alternative insemination, and adoption, also includes coming out to your children and what can do to protect your children and yourself in the event of a break up.

Part Five is for future directions and concluding thoughts

 

The Complete Lesbian and Gay Parenting Guide

Arlene Ister Lev, CSW. Bexkley Books, New York, 2004

Key Elements: contains advice for single parents, same sex couples, bisexual and transgenderd families, adoption, legal issues, emotional issues, and practical parenting issues.

The book contains a breakdown of building the family process from the very beginning starting from 'alternative families' through to family life and four different appendixes with value references on the topic. All of the topics are covered thoroughly. It has everything that potential parents need to think about before starting a family and the concerns that many gay and lesbians parents many is facing at the moment.

Part One: Now That You Have Decided To Become A Parent - this section of the book explores alternative families, the pathways that can lead to parenting and the roadblocks to parenting (infertility and pregnancy loss) and the realities of parenting.

Part Two: Building Healthy Families - this section looks at the queer family cycles meaning the evolution and changes to gay and lesbian couples and families. There is a look at the developmental life cycle theories and the bi-cultural elements of such families. It also tells you what you need to know about the legal system, its documentation and preparing agreements that are linked to the alternative parenting process.

Part Three: When the American Dream Becomes A Nightmare - here the focus is on moving away from the beliefs that everything in wonderful once in a relationship and the children come along. How to evaluate your relationship with children and the experience of change that takes place after the parenting has begun. Domestic violence, addiction and mental illness are written about as important elements of some alternative families that are not discussed.

Part Four: Family Life - Dealing with alternative families at home and in the outside world, positive sexuality at home and in relationship[s, spirituality and religion are discussed in detail along with their impact on the individuals and families.

Families Are Talking

(free booklet to download)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gay Men Choosing to Be Parents

(free booklet to download)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lesbian and Gay Parenting

(free booklet to download)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Guide for Gay Dads

Stonewall

(free booklet to download)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Different families
The experiences of children with lesbian and gay parents

Stonewall

(free booklet to download)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pregnantpause

A guide for lesbians on how to get pregnant

Stonewall

(free booklet to download)