My daughter, Rubie, has the kind of life I’d dreamed of for her, and is where she belongs. I only wish I had known that sooner.
The Birth Parent Perspective
A major study reveals that open adoption works well for everyone involved. Hear what families say is good about the process — and what could be better.
“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.
“Pulling Back in Open Adoption”
After a bump in the relationship with our daughter’s birth mother, we’re learning lessons about love, patience, and acceptance.
Adoptees on Open Adoption: “I Have All My Pieces”
Teen and young adult adoptees who grew up in fully open adoptions talk about their relationships with their birth parents and adoptive parents and the many benefits openness has brought them.
Ask AF: Explaining the Birth Mother Relationship
My husband and I have a friendly relationship with the birth mother of our 3-year-old daughter. We talk on the phone, exchange letters regularly, and visit a few times a year.
Understanding Open Adoption
Among experts who study it and families who practice it, open adoption varies widely. Here’s a look at open adoption today.
A Meeting of the Open Minds
Two adoptive moms and a birth mother candidly discuss the adoption match, birth siblings, contact agreements, and more.
A Durable Relationship with Your Child’s Birth Parents
Over the years, an open adoption arrangement may need to evolve to accommodate the changing needs of everyone involved — above all, the child.
“Moving Past a Miscommunication in Our Open Adoption”
14 years into our open adoption, we’ve learned that conflicts can occur, as in any family. Here’s how we moved past one sticky situation when our son’s birth mother sent him a check in the mail.
Ask AF: Too Young to Understand Birth Family?
We have an open adoption with our 30-month-old son’s birth family. Last night we were looking at a photo album.
Open Adoption from the Other Side
How does your child’s birth mother feel about being called a “birth mother,” about the frequency and format of contact, her voice in the relationship, and more? We asked five birth mothers in open adoptions these questions. Here are their answers.
“Too Many Questions”
When you and your child look different, the world wants to know why.
Ask AF: A Difficult Reality
We used to have a good relationship with our son’s birth mother, but haven’t heard from her since he was two. He’s now nine. I recently searched for her online, and learned that she’s in jail.
A ‘Lost’ Daughter Speaks, and All of China Listens
I went to China to find the birth mother who left me on a street corner. Instead, I became the focus of a nation’s buried pain.
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.
Ask AF: Birth Mother Confusion
“My daughter says things that make me a little insecure, like, ‘I love you as much as I love my birth mother,’ or “My birth mother is my real mom.’ How should I respond?
Ask AF: Sharing Difficult Birth Parent Information
Answers to your parenting questions.
Ask AF: Opening Contact
“We recently learned that our son’s birth mother is having health problems. How do we tell him, and how can we ask for more contact?’