How to deal with the emotions of realising you’re not going to have a baby in the ‘traditional’ way
As a parent, I've never related to Kate Middleton more than when Louis misbehavedHow to use the 'chaos' method to handle your children misbehaving in publicMeet the 'rainbow families' celebrating their new normalWorried that your ability to parent will be affected by you not carrying the baby or being genetically related to them?
This is a common fear, but it’s not at all the reality. ‘I have spoken with some who grew a family that is not genetically theirs, and this concern fades away once the child is with them,’ says Melissa. ‘And there are many examples of this bonding regardless of whether the person is queer or not: step-parents, adoptive parents, foster parents, those who brought children into the world with the help of donor eggs or donor sperm. ‘Being a parent requires so many different skills, and being genetically connected to a child is not a determinant of those skills.’ Remember this: the ‘traditional’ way of starting a family isn’t always a magical, perfect dream – and just as parents who go through a natural pregnancy have no guarantee of the perfect child and the perfect journey, going through the non-traditional route doesn’t destine you to have a family that’s in any way ‘lesser’.
You can become a parent in all sorts of ways – the most important ingredient in the recipe is love. MORE : Experts share unexpected emotional issues of reproductive donation – and advice for same-sex parents MORE : Expanding your dating pool to more genders?
Here’s how to navigate your nerves MORE : Best LGBTQ+ travel tours and events around the world to book now This year marks 50 years of Pride, so it seems only fitting that Metro.co.uk goes above and beyond in our ongoing LGBTQ+ support, through a wealth of content that.
