Category: Birth Parents
Improving the adoption process and long-term outcomes for everyone impacted by adoption will require legislative action by Congress to address key issues. In the January 2022 issue of the Adoption ...
Access to adoption and birth records for adopted individuals sits at the intersection of ethics, privacy, confidentiality, and adoptee rights. Carefully navigating these delicate topics requires an...
October 18, 2021 - Alexandria, VA - National Council For Adoption (NCFA) is pleased to announce Dr. Elizabeth Bartholet as the 2021 inductee to the Adoption Hall of Fame. This award is given annual...
As National Adoption Month approaches - it has been celebrated annually in the U.S. since 1985 - so does NCFA's Adoption Hall of Fame ceremony and reception scheduled for November 2nd in Washington...
Parenting is not an easy job. There are many things you can do to help you prepare for the many colossal feats this task presents like, reading books, watching videos, or seeking advice from those ...
Choosing an open adoption is just the first step in a lifelong journey for birth mothers. In this issue of the Adoption Advocate, three birth moms share their stories and offer advice and encourage...
After the Open Birth Certificates Act of NJ came into effect in 2017, I attended an event that led me to a newfound boldness about search and reunion in adoption. At this event I had my first exper...
In honor of National Adoption Month 2020, NCFA is featuring various stories and perspectives on adoption. Today we welcome guest writer Jessica, a birth mom, working to raise awareness about the im...
Adoption can be a positive option for all members of the triad; infants placed for adoption can grow up in a loving family, birth parents who are not ready to parent are given the opportunity to mo...
My name is Lydia, and I placed my perfect little girl for adoption two days after she was born. The raw and painful memories of that day are still so very real for me. But, the absolute joy I got ...
When you're the first teenager to get pregnant in your school, you're going to get talked about. I was really angry. I was angry at him, I was angry at myself. I've realized those were very, very...
Going to school pregnant, riding the bus…that was hard. You just have all the stares and you have all the questions. Even little kids make you nervous, just staring at you. When you get pregnan...
I had just turned 18 when I found out I was pregnant. Although I was young and it was unexpected, I felt an unbelievable amount of love for my unborn child. My parents pushed for adoption, especial...
My name is Angela and I chose adoption. I am originally from St. Louis. I was born and raised there. I took the test, and I was in shock. Like, this is not happening, what about my future? Compl...
I chose open adoption. My mom got mad at me. I had uncles and aunts mad at me. My grandma was mad at me. We adopt people into our family, but we don’t adopt out of our family. My aunt said i...
Finding out I was pregnant my senior year of high school was devastating. I did not want to believe it – it took three positive pregnancy tests to convince me that I was really pregnant. I h...
In the summer of 1996, shortly after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I went to Atlanta to work at the Summer Olympic Games. In August, I became pregnant. The bi...
The start of any New Year is usually considered a milestone for people and organizations alike, but for National Council For Adoption (NCFA), 2020 takes on even more significance than usual. Not onl...
National news outlets have reported on the arrest this week of Arizona attorney Paul Petersen, who has been indicted on numerous charges related to the alleged trafficking of pregnant women and chi...
The media often presents the dramatic and heartwarming aspects of search and reunion, but for those involved, the reality is much more complex. This article explores the common questions and concern...
Introduction Historically, adoptions in the United States were strictly closed adoptions that entailed sealed legal records and absolutely no contact between the birth parents and the adoptive famil...
Words matter so much, especially when we’re speaking about something as deeply personal as adoption. Accurate adoption language can help stop the spread of misconceptions about adoption and reflec...
Curiosity about who we are, where we came from, and our significance in life is universal. Today, opportunities abound to search family history to fill in the missing pieces of the past, whether a f...
November is National Adoption Month, a time when our nation commits an entire month to focus attention on the institution of adoption. For many, it’s a time of celebrating the good that adoption a...
Over the past ten years, I've received many calls from young adult adoptees pleading with me to send them their adoption or birth records. Most are heartbreaking stories of lost documents due to fir...
Introduction When Andrew1 and his girlfriend Maria chose adoption for their daughter five years ago, Andrew was astounded that he had to sign only one form to terminate his parental rights, while M...
The word “adoption” often conjures up joyful images of families coming together, created out of an abundance of love. Adoptive parents are ecstatic welcoming their new child or children into the...
Thirteen years ago, I left the hospital as a proud new mom. Unlike most new moms, though, I also left the hospital with empty arms and a broken heart, as I had just placed my newborn baby boy into t...
I found out I was pregnant shortly after I began my senior year of high school. At the time, I was in serious relationship with my boyfriend Robbie. Although we were very surprised and completely un...
What is open adoption? Today, a significant majority of domestic infant adoptions are “open adoptions” in that birth parents and adoptive parents have agreed to engage in some level of communica...
Introduction: Factors that Can Influence How an Individual Deals with Loss One of the paradoxes of adoption is that, for all its potential benefits, it is nonetheless born of loss – including the ...
I just celebrated my seventh anniversary as a birthmother. July 11th marked the day that my daughter was born and my life was forever changed. I was eighteen years old when I signed the adop...