Even though lesbian and bisexual women make good mums, working out to how to go about getting pregnant can be confusing and effortful for some lesbian women. Stonewall has produced a guide to help lesbian women with lesbian pregnancy, and pregnancy for all female same-sex couples. The practical advice regarding how to inseminate at home has been described as particularly helpful by a number of lesbian women.
Stonewall lobbied for the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act to ensure that lesbians could approach fertility clinics without fear of discrimination. The requirement that fertility clinics consider “the need for a father” was replaced with “the need for supportive parenting” from 1 October 2009. This change dramatically improved opportunities for lesbian pregnancy and female same-sex pregnancy in the UK.
Furthermore, when a female same-sex couple have a child in the UK, the non-birth mother no longer has to adopt the child in order to be named joint legal guardian on the birth certificate. If the couple are civilly partnered, or are conceiving via a licensed fertility clinic, this will now be automatic.
The guide covers: getting and being pregnant and giving birth; the laws affecting lesbian moms in the UK; what happens after the birth and future considerations; and other resources.
The guide is free and available for download from Stonewall. Pink Families congratulates Stonewall on producing this wonderful guide. The guide forms part of a suite of useful resources from Stonewall, including one for gay dads.
