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PETBioNewsNewsHalf of women would ask a friend to father their child

BioNews

Half of women would ask a friend to father their child

Published 9 June 2009 posted in News and appears in BioNews 476

Author

Katy Sinclair

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.

A survey of 3,103 men and women, conducted by vitamin supplement company Vitabiotics, has found that 45 per cent of women surveyed would consider asking a male friend to father their child in the absence of a suitable partner. The report by the company reveals that both...

A survey of 3,103 men and women, conducted by vitamin supplement company Vitabiotics, has found that 45 per cent of women surveyed would consider asking a male friend to father their child in the absence of a suitable partner.


The report by the company reveals that both men and women have concerns about fertility issues, with two thirds of the women polled that were not in current relationships expressing doubts over their ability to conceive naturally, and 26 per cent of men voicing similar concerns.


Three quarters of those questioned thought that fertility issues could cause serious problems within a relationship, possibly leading to a breakup, while more than one in three men and women stated that they would reconsider staying with a partner who could not conceive.


The most intriguing trend to come out of the survey was women's willingness to consider alternative means to conception in the absence of a suitable partner. Women between the ages of 28 and 31 were most likely to entertain the idea of turning to a male friend in absence of a partner, while half of the single female survey respondents thought about meeting a partner on a frequent basis. Many women questioned also made it clear that they would consider a 'second best' option in the event that they were unable to find their 'ideal' partner.


Psychologist Linda Papadopoulos commented on the changing social norms of parenting, which were challenging the conventional nuclear family unit. She stated that 'reconstituted families, same sex families, and single parents are much more prevalent these days, and rather than ascribing to the 'norm' it seems that women and men are more flexible with their definition of 'family''.

Related Articles

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
Comment
18 June 2009 • 5 minutes read

Fathers or donors? The legal position of friends who act as informal sperm donors

by Natalie Gamble

I read with interest the article in BioNews and reply commentary from Berenice Golding about the recent Vitabiotics survey finding that over half of women would consider asking a friend to father their child. As a solicitor who has represented many single women and lesbian couples conceiving with 'friends' as...

Image by Bill McConkey via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts sperm swimming towards an egg.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Bill McConkey via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts sperm swimming towards an egg.
Comment
18 June 2009 • 3 minutes read

A friend, a father, or both?

by Dr Berenice Golding

Commenting on the recent article in BioNews, which reported that half of women would ask a friend to father their child if they had no partner (1), I wish to raise the following points for consideration. The Vitabiotics survey this was based on reported that over half of the women...

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