“A brilliant evidence-based guide that fills a real gap in the literature. Dr. Woodstein has sensitively combined her extensive knowledge with the voices and experiences of LGBTQ+ parents to produce a nuanced guide that will support many on their journey of starting, extending and blending their families. A must read for LGBTQ+ parents and anyone who works in pregnancy, birth and parenting support.”
—Amy Brown, author of The Positive Breastfeeding Book
"As B.J. says, all parents have the right to feel seen and accepted. It's the responsibility of everyone who works with LGBTQ+ families to educate themselves and to step up to ensure that they offer support and empathy. This book is a great place to start. By sharing stories, as well as detailed factual information, this book makes an essential contribution to the education of professionals and volunteers."
—Emma Pickett, IBCLC, author of The Breast Book
“Team 12,000! I’m one of these queer parents bringing up children in the UK. Dr. Woodstein’s book is an invaluable, affirming and practical guide to everything LGBTQ+ people need to know, want to know and would like to check out about becoming parents and thriving as families. It’s a modern womanual covering legalities and the how-to of queer reproduction, for everyone and every body. B.J.’s book is inclusive, careful and positive. It contains first hand accounts from parents from all backgrounds, so you can hear how people have managed and why they made the choices they did. This book will also be invaluable for birthing and childcare professionals from medicine, education, health and care, to gain an insight into this small but rising family formation.”
—Dr. Finn Mackay, author of Female Masculinities and the Gender Wars
We’re Here! A Practical Guide to Becoming an LGBTQ+ Parent is a handbook all about family creation, birth, feeding, and parenting from an LGBTQ+ perspective.
This book attempts to demystify the road to queer parenting for everyone. Its primary aim is to offer detailed information and judgement-free lists of pros and cons for your options, with many illustrative and inspiring examples from LGBTQ+ people themselves.
In addition, We’re Here! is intended to help educate allies and healthcare professionals. Many professionals—doctors, midwives, nurses, fertility specialists, doulas, lactation consultants, breastfeeding counsellors, health visitors, and so on—come into contact with LGBTQ+ families but may lack confidence in their ability to interact with them or may not have the necessary knowledge about their parenting journeys. A chapter specifically aimed at allies provides useful knowledge and guidance so that LGBTQ+ people can be better supported in the future.
We’re Here! is for the queer community and it has been written by a member of that community. B.J. Woodstein is an LGBTQ+ parent, doula, IBCLC, and academic, and she is here to gently guide you through your options for becoming and being a parent, as well as to raise the bar for those serving the LGBTQ+ community.
This is an amazing time to be a queer parent, so let’s get started!
