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Okay Yall....Here It Goes....Hard Topic!!!!
I first and foremost am a bmom. So I must interject some thoughts and feelings here.
The idea of adoption is VERY hard for me. I was but a mere child when I found out I was pregnant and certainly did not want to have an abortion because of this precious little baby growing rapidly in my tummy. I love her with everything I could has a fifteen year old child, and knew I could not offer the best of the best. In my fifteen year old mind that was all that was important. She needed a mom and a dad that could love her no matter what!!!!
I certainly had a heart for ALL of the people that could not have children, and felt bad(even at 15) that I was carring a precious little girl that I could not be a mother to!!! It took me FOREVER to get pregnant with my little girl...eleven years after placing my first born up for adoption and this pain became even more real to me.
NOW....I see all of these mothers just waiting to adopt and how they feel just wanting to be a mom and I really do feel their pain. I wish EVERY woman could have children with NO problem.....It is the greatest joy!!!! Yet they want so bad to just have a baby and can't.....why???? It is certainly a mystery to me. Yet there are people every day who don't want a child and do!!!!
I do believe adoption is a good thing, but yet there is SO much grief.....The bmom hurts so bad....the amom is so thrilled yet hurt for the bmom. The child grows up with SOOOOO many questions????
I KNOW this is a HARD topic, but it truly NEEDS to be addressed.....WHO has answers....Why do I feel this way?? Isn't giving a child a life instead of having an abortion a great option....I would hope so, but why is it SOOOOOO hard on everyone????
NO CONTROVERSY.....ONLY ANSWERS?????
Staci
Excellent post - thank you for sharing your feelings and thoughts. I wish I had the answers too.
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The only answer I have is that it's because for the most part we are all loving, compassionate, caring people and that is why we have chosen to be a part of this journey. This is just too difficult for someone who doesn't have the love and passion that it takes.
I personally feel that it's so hard because there is loss involved. A birthmother can relinquish a child for adoption, but still feels the loss of that child no matter how great the adoption plan or how much openness there is in the adoption.
It is different from the loss involved when someone dies because you know the child is still alive..just not with you. Nevertheless it is still a grieving process.
On the side of the adoptive parent there is most likely the loss involved of your fertility and your own biological child. In order to move forward with an adoption you must first grieve the loss of your dream of having your own child that my look like you or act like you. You can never say "oh he gets his red hair from Grandpa".
Just my two cents..that's why I feel it's so hard. The loss involved on both sides.
Staci, great post ... my pain as an original mother is a double edged sword. The one child I had was adopted and, although I can conceive, it is extremely unlikely I will have another child as it's my husband with the problem. The past year has been particularly hard on us as it's coming up for a year that we found out what the problem is...makes the pain even harder at times.
Pip :wings:
Boy do I wish I knew the answers to some of your questions! I'm not sure though if anyone really has an answer... :(
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I do believe adoption is a good thing, but yet there is SO much grief.....The bmom hurts so bad....the amom is so thrilled yet hurt for the bmom. The child grows up with SOOOOO many questions????
I KNOW this is a HARD topic, but it truly NEEDS to be addressed.....WHO has answers....Why do I feel this way?? Isn't giving a child a life instead of having an abortion a great option....I would hope so, but why is it SOOOOOO hard on everyone????
Ah Stacy, what great questions! Many birth moms wonder why they hurt as they do. I have several thoughts on this issue.
First, most birth moms are expecting some temporary short-term sadness - they are not generally expecting a whole lifetime of painful issues. There is a frustrating sense of betrayal when many birth moms discover that it is way harder than they ever imagined.
Second, I think our system of adoption, and the way we handle adoptions is partially to blame. Adoption could/should be much better than it is. Closed adoptions are in my opinion fraught with the potential for tremendous pain and difficult challenges for all. Open adoptions have their own set of unique challenges.
Why is it so hard? Because, yes, adoption IS based on loss, and the loss of a child is the most excruciating loss a person will probably ever face. I do not believe many women really want to relinquish children, but, do so most often out of desperation, not lack of love. It believe that mothers are intended to raise their children - and when they don't - it just is not an easy task to ever recover from that separation.
This whole subject is very controversial - there's no escaping that fact. Most adoptive mothers promote and believe in adoption - and want more adoptions to occur. On the other hand, many birth moms and adoptees see all the destruction that adoption has caused so many, so they want less or none. No easy answers - only many questions.
I believe that some adoption will always be necessary, but, I also feel that adoption could be handled so much better than it currently is.
Boy this topic does bring some interesting thoughts!!! I believe you are so right Jan in that there will always be adoption, BUT it should be handled very differently.
As a bmom in the 80's open adoption was pretty much unheard of. I wish like anything now that mine could have been open....it wasn't though. Not really knowing first hand if it is the better option it certainly seems to be.
I guess in a perfect world the adoption system would be perfect, but is something we will never achieve. This is just human nature!!!!
Thanks to all for your replies.....It truly means a lot!!!
Staci :D