Families created by assisted reproduction Children's perspectives

An increasing number of children are conceived using third-party assisted reproductive techniques (ARTs). Although we are beginning to understand more about the psychological well-being of these children and the functioning of their families, little is known about the thoughts and feelings of children conceived in this way. While policy on assisted reproduction in the UK and elsewhere has been guided by the ‘best interests of the child’, the voices and experiences of children themselves are not well documented. As a result, assumptions about what may or may not be important for children might not accord with their own experiences of family life. It is therefore essential to gain an understanding of how children conceived using ARTs come to know, interpret and develop narratives about their conception and family relationships, and how they feel about others involved in their creation: the egg donors, sperm donors and surrogates that Ehrensaft (2008) describes as ‘birth others’.