Press Articles & Research News

Why Parents Should Be Open With Their Kids About Donor Conception 

TIME, 14 Apr 2023 

When sperm donation first took off in the U.S. in the 1980s, the typical medical advice was to keep it a secret from the kids it helped create.

Research shows that assisted reproduction does not diminish a child’s wellbeing 

EL PAÍS English, 13 April, 2023 

A recent study found that family relationships are stronger if children are told about their biological origins around age seven.

Same-sex parents 'fare as well as heterosexual couples' 

The Times, 07 Mar 2023 

Children from same sex, non-binary and trans parents fare as well and sometimes better than those from “traditional” families,...

Susan Golombok Q&A: “People often say the family is doomed. I disagree” 

New Statesman, 02 Feb 2022 

The Glaswegian academic on Douglas Stuart's Shuggie Bain, her estranged grandfather, and new kinds of family.

COVID Lockdown Wellbeing: Children Who Spent More Time in Nature Fared Best 

SciTechDaily, 18 Oct 2021   

Children from less affluent backgrounds are likely to have found COVID-19 lockdowns more challenging to their mental health because they experienced a lower...

Family bonds: How does surrogacy impact on relationships.

Medical Xpress, 09 Jul 2019

Preliminary results from a pioneering study at Cambridge University paint a positive picture of the relationships formed between surrogates and the families they help to create.

Families with a difference: the reality behind the hype.

University of Cambridge Research News, 12 March 2015

Families come in many guises. Some parents are same-sex; others are single by choice. Growing numbers of children are conceived through assistive reproductive technology. What do these developments mean for the parents and children involved?

We ask the experts: Does society really care about the old and the vulnerable?

University of Cambridge Research News, 28 Oct 2013

On November 1 Melvyn Bragg will talk about his book Grace and Mary at the Festival of Ideas.  The novel is based on Bragg’s own bitter-sweet experience of his mother’s dementia. Looking back across three generations, it raises fundamental questions about social attitudes and how they shape our lives. Three people discuss some of the big challenges that face us.

Surrogate mothers 'strengthen bonds.

The Herald, 08 Jul 2013

WOMEN who carry a baby on behalf of childless couples further strengthen the bond between the families they help create, pioneering new research has revealed.

How to care for carers.

University of Cambridge Research News, 10 Jun 2013

Carers’ week (10-16 June) will focus on the 6.5 million people who are carers. Many are providing palliative care for a relative or friend at home. A new tool has been developed to identify carers’ needs during end-of-life care at home and enable them to work more smoothly with healthcare professionals. 

'New Conceptions: Single mothers by sperm donation'.

University of Cambridge Research News, 25 Apr 2013

Sophie Zadeh, a PhD candidate in the Centre for Family Research, is contributing to a new study of the well-being of single mothers by sperm donation and their children. Her initial findings confound many of the assumptions about this group of women.

I've got two dads - and they adopted me.

University of Cambridge Research News, 04 Mar 2013

Research into adoptive families headed by same-sex couples paints a positive picture of relationships and wellbeing in these new families. The study, which was carried out by Cambridge University, suggests that adoptive families with gay fathers might be faring particularly well. 

Children in gay adoptions at no disadvantage.

The Independent, 03 Mar 2013

Research confirms same-sex couples are just as good at parenting as heterosexual

Why I'm having my first baby at 51.

The Guardian, 09 Nov 2012

Over 50 and pregnant for the first time… one woman explains why she is joining the growing tribe of late, late mothers