Episode 104: Family planning when you have a heritable visible difference

About this episode

The episode discusses family planning decisions among individuals with heritable visible differences, featuring insights from Dr Kerry Montgomery.

Welcome back to Appearance Matters: The Podcast! In this month’s episode, Ella speaks to Dr Kerry Montgomery, who is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Appearance Research, about the STAR Project. Kerry’s work explores how people with conditions that affect appearance and that can be passed on to their children make decisions about starting a family. They talk about research Kerry has carried out with prospective parents who have visible differences and genetic counsellors. Please be aware that this episode contains discussion of pregnancy, family planning, and termination, which might be sensitive for some listeners. If you’re interested in hearing more about the Centre for Appearance conference, Appearance Matters 11 (9th – 11th of June 2026) click here: https://www.uwe.ac.uk/research/centres-and-groups/appearance/news-and-events/am-conference Photo by Warren Umoh on Unsplash https://unsplash.com/photos/a-chain-link-fence--qycBqByWIY?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditShareLink Music by Sian Evans & John Landau: toplinefilm.com Episode developed and produced by Ella Guest

People in this episode

Host: Ella Guest

Guest: Dr Kerry Montgomery

Topics covered

• family planning
• heritable visible difference
• genetic counseling
• pregnancy
• visible differences

Keywords

• family planning
• visible difference
• genetic counseling
• pregnancy
• termination

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Centre for Appearance Research, STAR Project

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