I know people who have adopted children. I know people who are single parents of children. I know grandparents who are integrally involved in the care of their grandchildren. I know gay and lesbian couples with children. I know people whose children underwent assisted reproduction treatments. But, until I worked on this edition of FP Essentials, I don’t think I really understood all the issues involved in the lives of these people and their families.

After working with the authors on this edition, I now understand a lot more. There is so much more diversity in family structures than most people realize, and people in those diverse family structures deal with numerous issues that many do not think about. As just a few examples, in Section One, the authors talk about the amazing number of hoops that people adopting children from other countries must jump through, along with all the routine things involved in domestic adoptions. In Section Two, they review the experiences of LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual/agender, and other identities) individuals as they deal with societal biases and assumptions, not just in the community but sometimes in medical settings. In Section Three, the authors discuss the experiences of people in single-parent, multigenerational, and blended families, all of which are increasingly common compared with traditional nuclear families. And in Section Four, the authors explain the many issues to deal with besides the straightforward medical ones, including the many states and countries with laws prohibiting various forms of assisted reproduction.

This edition of FP Essentials focuses on issues other than diagnosis and management of diseases. Nevertheless, I think you will find it to be interesting and informative.

Barry D. Weiss, MD, FAAFP, Medical Editor
Professor, Department Family and Community Medicine
University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson