Two birth mothers talk about grief, aftercare and simple ways to support one another
Recently the National Council for Adoption hosted a webinar called "What We Want Adoption Professionals to Know" and invited two birth mothers, Jan and Heather, to participate on the panel. We had to listen in to what our friends were saying! The women shared their personal adoption stories and then specifically discussed the role of a birth mother and the reality of a birth mother’s grief.
To all my Birthmother Sisters,
"I want each of you amazing women to know how BEAUTIFUL you are, how BRAVE you are, how much you are truly LOVED! Most of all, I hope you know that you are NEVER ALONE."
Someone Pinch Me
When I was growing up and planning my future, becoming a birth mother was never discussed with my guidance counselor. I would talk with friends about what we would “do” if we ever got pregnant. Abortion was never an option; raising it would be hard but maybe adoption would be a good choice. I have learned a few things since those days, the simpler days.
Terri | A Birth Mom from Kansas
My parents told me after Katie was born that it was all over. But the truth is it was just beginning. I wish I would have known how much I needed support and counseling so I could have been better equipped to deal with my grief in healthy ways.
What It Means to be a Big Tough Girl, according to Ashley - Part 2
(If you haven’t read Part 1 of Ashley’s post, better read that first.) Whether you are a birth mom, a single parent, an adoptive mom, a woman….it doesn’t matter…in my book you are a BIG TOUGH GIRL if...
What It Means to be a Big Tough Girl, according to Ashley - Part 1
This year we’ve become friends with the founder of Blessings in a Basket Ashley Mitchell. Ashley spends her days loving on her children, leaning on her husband and reaching out to women who, like herself, found themselves at a crossroads and chose adoption. She is the founder of a non-profit birth mom community called Blessings in a Basket. She is a die-hard college football fan, covets anything from Tiffany, and thinks that snow is the most magical and sparkly thing in the world!
Jan's Story
It was a winter afternoon during Christmas break that I discovered I was pregnant. Mom and I had been Christmas shopping together but immediately when we split to do our own thing, I dashed to buy a pregnancy test. Although I was fairly confident that I was pregnant, the positive pregnancy test staring at me in the JC Penney bathroom that afternoon took me by surprise. I was 22 years old and a sophomore in college when I got pregnant with my son.