When we first considered adoption, my husband and I discussed how much contact we were willing to have with the birth mother. We didn’t realize how close we’d become to the whole birth family.
“The Whole Journey”
When our son’s birth mother was making that painful decision — raise a child or finish high school — we were the family she chose. So when she invited us to her graduation, nothing could stop us.
The Expectant Mom Match
On our Facebook page , we asked readers, If you adopted a newborn domestically, do you know why your child’s birth mother or birth family selected you? Here’s what you said
“Paying My Respects to My Son’s Birth Mother”
Our son came to us from foster care, in a closed adoption. So how did I find myself walking through the doors of a dark funeral home, preparing to introduce myself to his other family?
Open Adoption: A Reference Guide for Families
Openness brings great benefits to all involved, as well as some unique dilemmas. Addressing them requires flexibility, sensitivity to the birth family, and confidence in yourself as parents. Here’s how to make it work for your family.
New Questions About Open Adoption
As our child gets older, he keeps coming up with more and more questions about his adoption!
Bringing Up Birth Siblings
Our daughter has birth siblings she doesn’t know about, but we don’t know how to tell her.
View the Open Adoption Webinar Replay
View the replay of a webinar with Lori Holden to learn about open adoption and hear answers to commonly asked questions from adoptive parents.
AF Asks: Tell Us About the First Moment With Your Child’s Birth Mother
Our Reader Panel responds.
“Falling in Love with Adoption”
Although my family’s story is a journey still in progress, I’ve discovered a way to feel complete.
Explaining Different Levels of Birth Mother Contact to Kids
We know very little about our nine-year-old’s birth mom, but her younger brother talks to his. How can we help her?
Ask AF: Birth Grandparent Contact?
Our expert explains how contact with birth grandparents can be beneficial for children, and the guidelines for setting up a relationship that will last.
“Goodbye, Betty Jean”
Betty Jean Lifton (1926-2010) was an adoption author, advocate, and close friend. I’ll miss her always.
“Snowfall, and the Silence of Pregnancy”
I frequently found myself on the defensive while pregnant, afraid of what people might say and how they might judge me. I felt judged enough, being single and pregnant.
“It’s an Adoption Thing”
In this personal essay, one adoptive mother shares her relationship with her daughter’s birth family, and the memories that arise as they prepare to visit.
Secret Thoughts of an Adoptive Mother
An honest examination of an adoptive mother’s feelings before, during, and after a transracial, open adoption.
“Open Adoption Converts”
Nowadays, I can’t imagine my family having come together any differently. But it wasn’t always that way.
“Our Son’s Direct Connection with his Birth Mother”
Our sons stay in touch with their birth mom through a P.O. box…and something a little less tangible.
Ask the Open Adoption Expert: Reconnecting with Birth Mother
We haven’t been in touch with our son’s birth mother since he was a toddler. How should we reconnect with her?
“Choosing to Adopt Our Second Child”
When this 20-something, fertile couple decided to adopt a child, they shocked family and friends–and so did their daughter’s birth mom.