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Study Question: Are there differences in levels of parental wellbeing (parental stress, psychological adjustment and partner relationship satisfaction) between gay-father families with infants born through surrogacy, lesbian-mother families with infants born through donor insemination, and heterosexual-parent families with infants born through IVF?, Summary Answer: There were no differences in parental wellbeing., What Is Known Already: The only other study of parental wellbeing in gay-father families formed through surrogacy (mean age children: 4 years old) found no difference in couple relationship satisfaction between these families and lesbian-mother families formed through donor insemination and heterosexual-parent families formed without assisted reproductive technologies., Study Design, Size, Duration: This cross-sectional study is part of an international research project involving 38 gay-father families, 61 lesbian-mother families and 41 heterosexual-parent families with 4-month-olds. In each country (the UK, the Netherlands and France), participants were recruited through several sources, such as specialist lawyers with expertise in surrogacy (for the recruitment of gay fathers), lesbian and gay parenting support groups, fertility clinics (for the recruitment of lesbian and heterosexual parents), and/or online forums and magazines., Participants/materials, Setting, Methods: During a home visit when their infants were between 3.5 and 4.5 months old, participants completed standardized measures of parental stress, parental psychological adjustment (anxiety and depression) and partner relationship satisfaction., Main Results and the Role of Chance: All parents reported relatively low levels of parental stress, anxiety and depression, and were all relatively satisfied with their intimate relationships. After controlling for caregiver role (primary or secondary caregiver role), there were no significant family type differences in parental stress, P = 0.949, depression, P = 0.089, anxiety, P = 0.117, or relationship satisfaction, P = 0.354., Limitations, Reasons for Caution: The findings cannot be generalized to all first-time ART parents with infants because only families from relatively privileged backgrounds participated., Wider Implications of the Findings: Our findings may have implications for the development of policy and legislation in relation to these new family forms, as well as the regulation of surrogacy in the Netherlands and France. In addition, our findings might encourage professional organizations of obstetricians and gynecologists in these countries to recommend that requests for assisted reproduction should be considered regardless of the applicants' sexual orientation., Study Funding/competing Interest(s): This research was supported, under the auspices of the Open Research Area (Application BO 3973/1-1; Principal Investigator, Michael E Lamb), by grants from the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC; Grant ES/K006150/1; Principal Investigator, Michael E. Lamb), The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO; Grant NWO 464-11-001, Principal Investigator, Henny W.M. Bos) and the French Agence Nationale de Recherche (ANR; Grant ANR-12-ORAR-00005-01, Principal Investigator, Olivier Vecho) whose support is gratefully acknowledged. There were no competing interests., (© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com)

Objective: To assess whether lesbian mothers of 17-year-old adolescents conceived through donor insemination are satisfied with their choice of a known, open-identity, or unknown sperm donor and whether the mothers' satisfaction is associated with psychological health problems in the index adolescent offspring., Design: Mixed-method study., Setting: Not applicable., Patient(s): One hundred twenty-nine lesbian mothers and 77 index offspring., Intervention(s): Semistructured interviews with the mothers conducted by telephone and the State-Trait Personality Inventory (STPI) completed online by the adolescent offspring., Main Outcome Measure(s): Satisfaction with the type of sperm donor selected was assessed through multiple choice questions, and adolescent psychological health problems by the STPI. The reasons for the mothers' (dis)satisfaction were evaluated through a thematic analysis of transcribed interviews., Result(s): Overall, 77.5% of mothers were satisfied with the type of donor chosen. There were no significant differences between birth mothers and comothers on (dis)satisfaction. In comparing satisfied with dissatisfied birth mothers by donor type, the only significant differences were that those selecting open-identity donors were more satisfied than dissatisfied and that those using unknown donors were more dissatisfied than satisfied; (dis)satisfaction with donor type was unrelated to offspring psychological health problems. Qualitative analyses revealed six themes concerning all mothers' reasons for (dis)satisfaction., Conclusion(s): Donor access and custody concerns were the primary themes mentioned by lesbian mothers regarding their (dis)satisfaction with the type of sperm donor they had selected., (Copyright © 2015 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To compare the quality of life (QoL), a measure of psychological well-being, of adolescents reared in lesbian-mother families with that of a matched comparison group of adolescents with heterosexual parents. The adolescents in the comparison group were derived from a representative sample of adolescents in Washington state. The second aim of the study was to assess among teens with lesbian mothers whether donor status, maternal relationship continuity, and self-reported stigmatization are associated with QoL., Methods: In 1986, prospective lesbian mothers were recruited in Boston, Washington, DC, and San Francisco. Currently, 93% of the National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (NLLFS) families are still participating in the study. This report is based on an online questionnaire completed by 78 NLLFS adolescent offspring-39 girls and 39 boys. Six items of the Youth Quality of Life Instrument were used to assess QoL. Also, the NLLFS adolescents were asked whether they had experienced stigmatization, and if so, to describe these experiences (e.g., teasing and ridicule). Mothers were queried about donor status and maternal relationship continuity., Results: The results revealed that the NLLFS adolescents rated their QoL comparably to their counterparts in heterosexual-parent families. Donor status, maternal relationship continuity, and experienced stigmatization were not related to QoL., Conclusion: Adolescent offspring in planned lesbian families do not show differences in QoL when compared with a matched group of adolescents reared in heterosexual families. By investigating QoL, this study provides insight into positive aspects of mental health of adolescents with lesbian mothers.