Author:

Keywords:

artificial reproduction, parent-child relationship, parenthood children, chances and risks, Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology, ARTIFICIAL REPRODUCTION, PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP, PARENTHOOD CHILDREN, CHANCES AND RISKS

Abstract:

Thanks to developments in medical technology, artificial reproduction has made a lot of progress during the last decades. This makes it possible for a lot of infertile couples still to have a baby of their own, biologically related or not. In case of artificial reproduction, parenthood is coloured in a very special way: reproduction and sexuality, biological and social parenthood are separated from each other. Following from this evolution, a lot of new questions are thrown up in all the disciplines that are somehow concerned with this matter. One of the central subjects in this discussion is the question to the well-being of the families that applied to these techniques and the children born out of it. Concentrating on this, in this article we question the chances and risks of these special ways of reproduction, for the parent-child interaction. Initially, a literature-based review of the specific aspects of having a child by artificial reproduction (the infertility problem, the medical context, the artificial character of the conception, the intervention of the doctor and the pregnancy) and their potential significance for the parent-child interaction is given. Next, we describe the research findings in this domain.