The Significance of Inner Circle Support for Prospective Parents in LGBTQ Family Formation Processes

Prospective parents in LGBTQ families often require donated gametes, fertility clinic or adoption agency services, new co-parenting partners. In addition to this, various support networks can play a meaningful role for prospective LGBTQ parents during family formation processes. In this study, we investigate how parents’ relationships with former families, kin, and others are reconfigured. Although some of the support networks in this study are referred to as “family” or “kin”, the terms are used to describe a broader set of relationships than those generally included in the terms. Limited research has been conducted on the significance of close relationships in the transition to parenthood for LGBTQ people. The present study addresses the following questions: How do close relationships affect prospective LGBTQ parents’ family formation processes? From whom do prospective parents receive support, and what kind of support do they receive? How do they describe these supportive relationships? Data were collected through interviews with parents in LGBTQ families in Finland. Face-to-face interviews (n = 18) were conducted using a semi-structured interview protocol, and the data were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed via reflexive thematic analysis. Prospective LGBTQ parents were found to receive emotional, instrumental, financial, informational, and appraisal support from their inner circles during the family formation process. They defined family not only in terms of legal ties or biological kinship but also based on emotional connections with others, viewing kinship as a relationship based on individual choice. Intergenerational assistance was relevant, but close friends of the prospective parents . Conversely, a lack of support from inner circles also affected the family formation process.