37° – mein Traum vom Kind

ZDF 37° is a series of reports telling the stories of people whose current situation exemplifies socially relevant, extraordinary life situations. Often the reports outline a turning point or a decision-making phase in a person’s biography.

Typical topics include dealing with illness, old age and death, but also sexuality, sexual identity or unusual family circumstances.

The episode “My Dream of having a Child – What Modern Medicine Makes Possible” was extremely challenging, especially in terms of recruiting participants. Talking about the unfulfilled desire to have children is still taboo and only a few, very courageous people are willing to open up. This is especially true when it comes to the topic of Social Freezing. The expensive procedure is only performed about 1000 times a year in Germany.

Research started in summer 2018, filming began in autumn 2019. The film was finally broadcast in the autumn of 2020. When it was first shown, the film had almost two million viewers. Clips from the film were shared on Facebook and Instagram, giving rise to enormous, sometimes heated debates.