LGBTQ Family Building A Guide for Prospective Parents

From surrogacy and adoption, to transgender pregnancy and finding child care, parenting as an LGBTQ person is complex. This book is an authoritative, comprehensive, and easy‑to‑read guide to parenthood and family building for LGBTQ people. 
 
The path to becoming a parent is complicated for LGBTQ people. Some LGBTQ people don't consider parenthood because of stereotypes and barriers, while others are interested in parenthood but unsure about the first steps or overwhelmed by the path to take. Still others are discouraged by the attitudes of their family, community, or religion. 
 
This book provides LGBTQ parents and prospective parents with the detailed, evidence‑based knowledge they need to navigate the transition to parenthood, and help their children thrive. Dr. Abbie E. Goldberg, psychologist and researcher, uses the results of her LGBTQ Family Building Project to help challenge traditional beliefs that have often been weaponized against LGBTQ people to prevent or discourage them from becoming parents. 

Dr Goldberg walks readers through the various steps and decision points in becoming a parent, describes key research findings on family building, and offers key questions and reader-friendly checklists to easily enable readers to evaluate the LGBTQ friendliness and overall “fit” of adoption agencies, health care providers, day cares, and other institutions.

Abbie E. Goldberg, PhD, is a clinical psychologist, psychology professor, and internationally known scholar of LGBTQ families. She has been studying LGBTQ families for 20 years. Dr. Goldberg has conducted studies of children on LGBTQ parents, adoptive LGBTQ parent families, LGBTQ parent families formed via insemination, and bisexual mothers partnered with men. Within these families, she has examined topics such as the transition to parenthood, the transition to divorce, and the relationships with families who have used the same donor. Dr. Goldberg has written 3 books and edited 3 books on LGBTQ parent families; spoken internationally about these topics; consults regularly with attorneys, therapists, and educators; and has been interviewed by numerous media outlets, including The New York Times, The Atlantic, USA Today, and People.com. Dr. Goldberg is currently the Director of Women's & Gender Studies at Clark University. Visit her website is www.abbiegoldberg.com and follow her on Twitter @DrAbbieG.
 

Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1. Deciding to Become a Parent
Chapter 2. Considering and Choosing Adoption
Chapter 3. Family Building Options: Considering and Choosing Donor Insemination
Chapter 4. Surrogacy and Other Family-Building Routes
Chapter 5. Choosing LGBTQ-Friendly Adoption Agencies and Health Service Providers
Chapter 6. Transitioning to Parenthood
Chapter 7. Parenting in the Early Years
Appendix A. The LGBTQ Family Building Project
Appendix B. Key Historical Events in U.S. LGBTQ Parenting History
References
Index
About the Author