10 ways to show respect and build trust.
“Logging On for Love”
Many of us wonder if the Internet is the adoption wave of the future. Here’s one family’s story.
Talking to Expectant Mothers Before a Match
We just completed our profile for potential birth mothers, and our agency told us to start expecting calls. How do we handle those first conversations?
Ask the Doctor: Asthma
Our child’s referral says he has asthma. How will this affect him? What can we do to optimize his care?
Adoption Law: At the Hospital
An adoption attorney explains the legal steps surrounding your child’s birth when you adopt domestically.
“Writing, Then Re-Writing, Our ‘Dear Expectant Mother’ Letter”
What do you write when the merchandise on offer is your heart?
“Our Agonizing Decision to Decline a Referral”
We thought accepting a referral would be the easy part. It wasn’t.
“How I Finally Got Into Club Mom”
The cruelest parts of infertility? Having to attend baby showers, coo over ultrasound pictures, and being told it’s “God’s will” that you’re still childless.
“Intimate Strangers”
She was going to have a child but couldn’t keep it, I wanted a child desperately but couldn’t have one. She was the mother at birth; I was the mother right after. It sounds simple, but it wasn’t.
“Guarding My Heart During the Wait”
After years of grappling with infertility, I could only focus on what might go wrong during our (in hindsight) perfect match and my daughter’s birth.
“Lessons Learned from a Failed Adoption Match”
When friends asked, I’d always assured them I wasn’t sad that I hadn’t given birth to my sons. A heartbreaking false start helped me see that I was truly at peace with that fact.
“Worth the Risk” – Living Through a Failed Adoption
Our failed adoption left our hearts shattered. But, as we learned, you take this risk no matter how you come to be parents, whenever you choose to love someone or something other than yourself.
The Adoption Process from the Expectant Mother’s Perspective
What is it really like to decide on adoption, look through parent profiles to choose a family, and place your child in their arms—and how can the adoption process better serve these women?
Ask AF: What to Talk About with the Expectant Mom?
I am curious as to what prospective adoptive families and expectant moms talk about during the match.
“Bringing Him Home”
The medical report faxed to us said our son could “speak in full sentences” and proclaimed him healthy. So who was this eerily quiet toddler on the exam table?
“What No One Told Me”
When we first met our child’s birth mother, we didn’t know what to talk about and what not to talk about, what might upset her or what she may or may not want to know about her child’s future with us.
Our Failed Adoption
When an adoption falls through, it can be devastating. Here, real parents share their tales of heartbreak — and eventual recovery.
How Can you Help Your International Adoption Succeed?
What goes wrong in international adoptions — and how can you help yours go through?
What if My Adoption Fails?
Adoptions fall apart at different stages (with different legal consequences), and there are different reasons for each kind of failure.
“Lost Daughter”
When we got our referral, we accepted it with joy. Soon after, however, we realized something wasn’t right.