Adoption Connection participated in the Open Adoption Interview Project, where bloggers interview adoptive parents about their experiences surrounding adoption. A blogger from http://stillseriouslyandlovinit.wordpress.com asked an Adoption Connection caseworker and adoptive parent some great questions about transracial adoption: As an adoption caseworker, what kind of education programs are available or mandatory when adopting transracially? How do …
Five-year-old Joachim and 2-year-old Jaspar are cherished young men. When the December holidays and birthdays roll around, the brothers get to celebrate with their parents … and their birth families. Adopted at birth, Joachim and Jaspar are part of a growing trend in open adoptions: merged families where the birth parents and their extended families …
Who will love my baby as much as I do? Many pregnant women considering adoption find themselves asking this question. Finding an adoptive family can be a life-changing experience. It can also bring doubts and insecurities to the surface, even if you are sure that adoption is the best choice for you. Christina, a birthmother …
Many adoptive families looking to adopt a baby through open adoption will at some point find themselves sitting down to fill out detailed questionnaires about what kind of baby they envision adopting. Sue and Jeff* decided to consider a birthmother who had used drugs during her pregnancy. “We wanted to keep the door open …
Related Posts: Adopting a Drug-Exposed Baby: Making the Decision Research, research, research. Talk to professionals – pediatricians, neonatologists or genetic counselors. They can help you feel comfortable with your decision. Enlist a professional who is familiar with substance abuse to help you determine the birth mother’s actual experience with drugs – which drugs she used, …
Written by an Adoption Connection Counselor I recently had the pleasure of working with a 19-year-old birthmother, Allis, who herself was adopted at birth by her parents, Paul and Christina. Her adoptive parents were very supportive of her decision to place her unborn son in an open adoption and heard about a wonderful family in …
Her eyes bulge and take up most of the space on her round face. Her thinning, blond hair stands up in places like pieces of fine straw. My birth mother looks over 60, but she is not a day over 45. I guess alcohol, cigarettes, and the Arizona sun will do that to you. People …
Adoption Connection participated in a wonderful evening sponsored by the Bay Area Doula Project. It was a panel discussion organized to bring adoption information to the doula community and local reproductive rights organizers and supporters. So what is a doula? Traditionally, a doula has been a birthing coach and a nonmedical person who assists a …
What is an adoption Lifebook? An adoption Lifebook, or adoption storybook, is a handmade scrapbook and keepsake that chronicles and illustrates a child’s journey to his or her adoptive home. It is used as a source of information as well as a way to open up the discussion of adoption with a child. Why is …
For women coming to terms with an unplanned pregnancy, the first step in the decision-making process often involves a visit to a family planning clinic, hospital, or the home of a trusted friend. Adoption can be a loving and beneficial choice, but it is often seen as a last-resort option for women who don’t feel …