“Age independent, but person dependent”: a Swiss interview-based study on the meaning of good parenthood at an advanced parental age
Abstract Background Child welfare is one of the most important topics when it comes to parenting competence and the definition of good parenthood. This is widely discussed, especially in the context of treatment considerations for medically assisted reproduction (MAR) for patients of Advanced Parent...
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| Language: | English |
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BMC
2025-07-01
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| Series: | BMC Medical Ethics |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-025-01259-5 |
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| author | Nathalie Bettina Neeser Andrea Martani Veerle Provoost Guido Pennings Bernice Simone Elger Christian De Geyter Nicolas Vulliemoz Tenzin Wangmo |
| author_facet | Nathalie Bettina Neeser Andrea Martani Veerle Provoost Guido Pennings Bernice Simone Elger Christian De Geyter Nicolas Vulliemoz Tenzin Wangmo |
| author_sort | Nathalie Bettina Neeser |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Child welfare is one of the most important topics when it comes to parenting competence and the definition of good parenthood. This is widely discussed, especially in the context of treatment considerations for medically assisted reproduction (MAR) for patients of Advanced Parental Age (APA, here defined as 40 years and older). The aim of this study is to contribute to the exploration of how different stakeholders in this context envision the concept of good parenthood. Methods An explorative semi-structured interview study was conducted with a total of 15 healthcare providers, 12 aspiring APA-parents, 21 APA-parents and 20 adult offspring of APA-parents. Results After thematic analysis, results show that although the connecting focal point among participant groups is reproductive age, participants consistently emphasized that APA is not a determining factor to define a “good” parent. Instead, we identified three themes representing participants’ views on this topic: (i) the difficulties in defining good parenthood; (ii) the family structure and context as inherent to parenting quality; and (iii) good parents as conscious adapters. Conclusions Participants expressed their views that good parenthood depends on the personality of the parent, rather than on one single characteristic of a parent, such as age. Our results challenge the focus on a singular parental characteristic in safeguarding the welfare of future children and therefore also the role currently attributed to parental age in decisions about access to MAR. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d847bffe703645798f6da65fd9c6d568 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1472-6939 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Medical Ethics |
| spelling | doaj-art-d847bffe703645798f6da65fd9c6d5682025-08-20T04:03:06ZengBMCBMC Medical Ethics1472-69392025-07-0126111310.1186/s12910-025-01259-5“Age independent, but person dependent”: a Swiss interview-based study on the meaning of good parenthood at an advanced parental ageNathalie Bettina Neeser0Andrea Martani1Veerle Provoost2Guido Pennings3Bernice Simone Elger4Christian De Geyter5Nicolas Vulliemoz6Tenzin Wangmo7Institute for Biomedical Ethics (IBMB), University of BaselInstitute for Biomedical Ethics (IBMB), University of BaselDepartment of Philosophy and Moral Science, Bioethics Institute Ghent (BIG), Ghent UniversityDepartment of Philosophy and Moral Science, Bioethics Institute Ghent (BIG), Ghent UniversityInstitute for Biomedical Ethics (IBMB), University of BaselReproductive Medicine and Gynaecological Endocrinology (RME), University Hospital, University of BaselCentre de Procréation Médicalement Assistée (CPMA)Institute for Biomedical Ethics (IBMB), University of BaselAbstract Background Child welfare is one of the most important topics when it comes to parenting competence and the definition of good parenthood. This is widely discussed, especially in the context of treatment considerations for medically assisted reproduction (MAR) for patients of Advanced Parental Age (APA, here defined as 40 years and older). The aim of this study is to contribute to the exploration of how different stakeholders in this context envision the concept of good parenthood. Methods An explorative semi-structured interview study was conducted with a total of 15 healthcare providers, 12 aspiring APA-parents, 21 APA-parents and 20 adult offspring of APA-parents. Results After thematic analysis, results show that although the connecting focal point among participant groups is reproductive age, participants consistently emphasized that APA is not a determining factor to define a “good” parent. Instead, we identified three themes representing participants’ views on this topic: (i) the difficulties in defining good parenthood; (ii) the family structure and context as inherent to parenting quality; and (iii) good parents as conscious adapters. Conclusions Participants expressed their views that good parenthood depends on the personality of the parent, rather than on one single characteristic of a parent, such as age. Our results challenge the focus on a singular parental characteristic in safeguarding the welfare of future children and therefore also the role currently attributed to parental age in decisions about access to MAR.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-025-01259-5Advanced parental ageParenthoodChild welfareAgeingEthicsQualitative methods |
| spellingShingle | Nathalie Bettina Neeser Andrea Martani Veerle Provoost Guido Pennings Bernice Simone Elger Christian De Geyter Nicolas Vulliemoz Tenzin Wangmo “Age independent, but person dependent”: a Swiss interview-based study on the meaning of good parenthood at an advanced parental age BMC Medical Ethics Advanced parental age Parenthood Child welfare Ageing Ethics Qualitative methods |
| title | “Age independent, but person dependent”: a Swiss interview-based study on the meaning of good parenthood at an advanced parental age |
| title_full | “Age independent, but person dependent”: a Swiss interview-based study on the meaning of good parenthood at an advanced parental age |
| title_fullStr | “Age independent, but person dependent”: a Swiss interview-based study on the meaning of good parenthood at an advanced parental age |
| title_full_unstemmed | “Age independent, but person dependent”: a Swiss interview-based study on the meaning of good parenthood at an advanced parental age |
| title_short | “Age independent, but person dependent”: a Swiss interview-based study on the meaning of good parenthood at an advanced parental age |
| title_sort | age independent but person dependent a swiss interview based study on the meaning of good parenthood at an advanced parental age |
| topic | Advanced parental age Parenthood Child welfare Ageing Ethics Qualitative methods |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-025-01259-5 |
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