The Birth Mother Stereotypes That Just Aren’t True

There are a lot of assumptions, including birth mothers are selfish women.

Meghan Rivard February 04, 2017

There are many stereotypes surrounding birth mothers that are absolutely not true. Our society is infused by social media and movies that improperly display the facts and role of the birth mother.

From an adoption.com forum, it is written, “I have lived with the birth mother stereotypes now for 37 years. I try fighting them on a one-on-one basis, usually by telling my story to friends, colleagues and acquaintances in the real world. Lately, however, I’ve noticed that the “normal” stereotypes seem to be getting worse.

It seems that a lot of people, even the few who should know better, assume that birth mothers are promiscuous, drug-addled, cold, selfish women. I think we can also throw in emotionally unstable, mentally ill, financially impoverished and perhaps a little “slow” upstairs. And that’s on a good day.

How in the world do we fight such negativity? Why do people ask birth moms in this sanctuary of support to explain and/or defend the bad behavior of women whom we’ve never met? Why is it assumed that since we’ve relinquished our babies that we’ll automatically be able to relate to women who have made poor choices?”

Other stereotypes of birth mothers are:

 They Will Forget About Their Child
1. They Will Forget About Their Child

In reality, the birth mother may not live with the child they placed for adoption, but they will think about that child every day.

They Chose The Easy Path
2. They Chose The Easy Path

It actually is the complete opposite. By placing their child for adoption, the birth mother chose a very emotional and challenging path, one that will last a lifetime.

They Wouldn’t Have Been A Good Parent
3. They Wouldn’t Have Been A Good Parent

Anyone making the decision to place their child for adoption is putting their child ahead of themselves, therefore, making them a good parent.

They Are All Teenagers
4. They Are All Teenagers

A prevalent stereotype is they are mostly teenagers, but many birth mothers or expectant mothers who place their child for adoption are well above the teenage years.

author image

Meghan Rivard

Meghan is an adoptive mother and a big advocate of adoption and foster care. She resides in Indiana with her husband, their one-year-old daughter who is the center of their lives, and their dog Max. She has a Bachelor's and Master’s Degree in Social Work. Meghan stays at home with her daughter but is so happy she found this outlet to share her personal adoption story and educate about adoption!



Related Articles See All


The views and opinions expressed through Adoption.com Articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Adoption.com. If you would like to report any articles for us to review, we would love to hear from you.


 
Host: www1