Modern parenthood: Adopting dads
Ahead of Mother's Day next Sunday, Paul Parker joins to explain how together with husband Nathan, he adopted three-year-old James just before Christmas 2013.
To mark Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Adoption Week we'll be finding out about their experiences during the process of becoming dads.
Each year some 4,000 children look for adoptive families. Same-sex couples have had the legal right to adopt since 2005 but remain a small proportion of the total number of adopters. National statistics show that annually around 60 children are adopted by gay couples and a further 60 by lesbian couples.
The bill that brought about the change was fiercely contested and took three years to pass through parliament. Issues raised in the debate included concerns that children adopted by same-sex couples would face bullying from peers and worries that children's own gender identity might be skewed by being raised by parents of the same sex.
Get more information at newfamilysocial.org.uk