Embryo donation families: Follow-up EMBRYO DONATION FAMILIES: A FOLLOW-UP IN MIDDLE CHILDHOOD

Couples who conceive using donated embryos rear a child to whom they are genetically unrelated. It has been suggested that this may have negative consequences for parenting and child development. Findings are presented of the second phase of an exploratory study of families with a child conceived through embryo donation. Seventeen embryo donation families with a 5-9 year old child were compared with 24 adoptive families and 28 in vitro fertilisation families. The quality of the mother’s parenting, and the child’s social and emotional development were assessed using standardised interviews and questionnaires administered to mothers and teachers. Embryo donation children were not at increased risk of psychological problems during middle childhood and the families were generally functioning well. However, higher emotional over-involvement of embryo donation parents was found, along with more reluctance to disclose the method of family creation. These preliminary findings are discussed in terms of implications regarding the importance of genetic and gestational relationships between parents and children.