Foundations of LGBTQ+ Family Building

LGBTQ+ family building involves a range of pathways and a layered legal, social, and emotional landscape. Sound understanding supports informed choices and clearer planning. This foundational course provides that base. By the end of this course you will be able to describe the major pathways to parenthood including adoption, surrogacy, and donor conception, recognize the legal landscape and its variation, identify the emotional considerations across pathways, and understand the social context families navigate. What you will learn: - The major pathways including adoption, foster care, surrogacy, reciprocal IVF, and donor conception - The legal landscape across jurisdictions including parental recognition and second-parent adoption - The emotional considerations including the grief of pathways not chosen - The role of donor relationships across known, anonymous, and emerging frameworks - The social context including family of origin, schools, and community responses - The role of healthcare providers and the importance of affirming care - The role of professional support including therapists and family-building consultants The course uses readings, pathway summaries, case examples, and reflection prompts. Each module ends with applied exercises. This course is written for LGBTQ+ individuals and couples considering or in the process of family building, and for those supporting them. By the end you will have replaced fragmented information with a structured map of pathways and the considerations that shape each.