Ways to become a parent

Most people become a parent by:

• giving birth to a baby
• having a baby with their partner.

But there are lots of ways to become a parent.

Biological parenting

A biological parent is when:

• a woman uses her egg to start a pregnancy
• a man uses his sperm to start a pregnancy.

You can become a biological parent by:

• getting pregnant and giving birth to a child
• giving someone your sperm so they can get pregnant
• asking someone to be your surrogate.
  A surrogate is someone who agrees to carry and give birth to a baby for someone else.
• using a fertility treatment to get pregnant.

Learn more about biological parenting the Pregnancy page of this website.

Adoption

Adoption is when you become a parent to a child, but you are not their biological parent.

Adoption is an option for people who aren’t able to or don’t want to become a biological parent.

Learn more about adoption on the Adopt Change website.

Fostering

Fostering is when you care for a child who can’t live with their biological parents.

Fostering can be for:

• short-term – a few days or months
• long-term – years.

Learn more about fostering on the Barnardos Australia website.

Step-parenting

A step-parent is someone who is in a relationship with the biological parent of the child.

The step-parent is not the biological parent of the child.

Learn more about being a step-parent on the Raising Children website.