Perceptions of Children’s Parental Preferences in Lesbian Two-Mother Households

This study explores how lesbian mothers perceive their 31⁄2-year-old children’s parental preferences in families in which one mother is genetically linked to the child. Thirty lesbian couples (60 women) were interviewed about their children’s parental preferences, their explanations of why preferences for one parent existed (or not), and their affective and behavioral reactions to such preferences. Many women acknowledged that their children, as infants, preferred their birth mothers due to biological factors (i.e., breastfeeding) or differential time spent with the child. Despite this initial preference, most women perceived little stability in children’s preferences over time, such that children preferred both mothers equally. Findings support the power of ‘‘social motherhood’’ in fostering maternal connections that transcend biological relatedness over time.