How the family grows
How your family might grow: biologically only, or also through adoption, fostering or fertility treatment.
Would we consider adoption, fostering or fertility treatment?
In short: Parents choose between 4 main approaches: Biological only; Open to adoption; Open to fostering; Blended; fertility treatment options. Evidence: your call. No outcome evidence picks a winner. Preference, culture, money and logistics decide. Best settled: during pregnancy.
- Evidence
- Your call
- Best settled
- During pregnancy
- Part of
- The family system
How the family grows: what are the options?
Parents usually land on one of these 4 approaches.
1. Biological only
You would have children only by birth.
2. Open to adoption
You would consider adopting.
3. Open to fostering
You would consider caring for foster children.
4. Blended; fertility treatment options
Your family includes children from earlier relationships. You also decide how far you would go with treatments such as IVF.
How the family grows: what does the evidence say?
Your call. No outcome evidence picks a winner. Preference, culture, money and logistics decide.
No outcome research gathered on this yet — treat it as a preference.
What else is worth knowing?
Families are formed by birth, fertility treatment, adoption, fostering and remarriage. Each path has its own costs, waits and emotional demands. It helps to know in advance how far each of you would go.
Questions to ask each other
- What would we consider if having a baby were hard?
- How do we each feel about adoption or fostering?
- What would we want to know first?
More in Family size and siblings
First published 2026-10-03. Last updated 2026-10-05. General information, not medical advice.