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Single Motherhood via Sperm Donation: Empirical Insights from a Longitudinal Study of Solo Mother Families in the UK

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Abstract

This chapter discusses findings from a longitudinal study at the Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge of parenting quality, the quality of mother-child relationships, mothers’ and children’s wellbeing, and perspectives in single mother families formed via sperm donation in the UK. The chapter begins with an overview of the psychological literature on single parent families through divorce and the early research on ‘fatherless families’ and ‘single mothers by choice’. It then discusses the findings of the Centre for Family Research study at Phase 1 (with children aged 4–9 years) and at Phase 2 (with children in middle childhood). The chapter addresses many of the concerns that have been raised about single mothers using sperm donation, and may therefore be especially relevant to policy-makers and practitioners in countries where the legal permissibility of this path to parenthood remains under debate.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act is the UK national legislation on assisted reproduction, to which all licensed fertility clinics must adhere.

  2. 2.

    There is limited access to state-funded fertility treatment in the UK (see Fertility Fairness 2018).

  3. 3.

    There were no differences between family types in terms of mothers’ educational level, perceived financial difficulties, and treatment for psychiatric problems in the previous year. However, the single mothers were on average older; had fewer children; and a higher proportion were working full time. For full details of the sample, see Golombok et al. (2016).

  4. 4.

    Although beyond the scope of this discussion, it is worth noting that there is a growing literature on divorce amongst same-sex couples, whose custody arrangements will obviously not follow such gendered patterns (see Goldberg 2019).

  5. 5.

    In the UK, this law mandates that children born since April 2005 who request information about their donor conception at age 18 will be provided with the donor’s name and last known address. The law does not mandate parental disclosure of donor conception.

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Acknowledgements

Thank you to all the children and parents who took part in the research described in this chapter. The research was made possible by funding from the Wellcome Trust [097857/Z/11/Z], awarded to Professor Susan Golombok; the Economic and Social Research Council [1104835], awarded to Sophie Zadeh; and a stipendiary Research Fellowship awarded to Sophie Zadeh by Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, UK.

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  1. Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Sophie Zadeh

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  1. Sophie Zadeh
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Correspondence to Sophie Zadeh .

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  1. Institut für Ethik und Geschichte der Medizin, Universitätsmedizin Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany

    Katharina Beier

  2. DI-Netz e. V., Deutsche Vereinigung von Familien nach Samenspende, Bielefeld, Germany

    Claudia Brügge

  3. Praxis für Paar- und Familientherapie, Kinderwunschberatung, Mörfelden, Germany

    Petra Thorn

  4. Institut für Ethik und Geschichte der Medizin, Universitätsmedizin Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany

    Claudia Wiesemann

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Zadeh, S. (2020). Single Motherhood via Sperm Donation: Empirical Insights from a Longitudinal Study of Solo Mother Families in the UK. In: Beier, K., Brügge, C., Thorn, P., Wiesemann, C. (eds) Assistierte Reproduktion mit Hilfe Dritter. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-60298-0_25

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-60298-0_25

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