Society sometimes views adopted children as unwanted or unloved because the birth mother made an adoption plan and “gave her baby away” that she didn’t want or love her child.

Do mothers who make adoption plans really not love for children or not want them? Of course not! Just because an expectant mother is considering adoption or actively making an adoption plan does not make her baby unwanted or any less loved than the woman painting her nursery pink down the street.

I didn’t try to get pregnant with Charlie and I didn’t want to get pregnant at that... more

Are you considering an open adoption plan for your unborn baby? I remember when I first heard of open adoption. Charlie’s adoptive mother, A, was actually the person who explained open adoption to me. There was so much I didn’t know about open adoption and honestly, I’m still learning things about open adoption. We kind of figure it out as we go along.

I’ve been living in an open adoption for over six years now. We’ve done some things correctly and we’ve made our share of mistakes too. Over the years, I’ve also gotten to know other birthmothers and adoptive parents... more

An interesting survey conducted in Australia by Marie Stopes International recently was featured in Australian newspapers.

The survey revealed that nearly half of Australian women who became unexpectedly pregnant were either take the birth control pill or using condoms at the time of conception. If you look at the results further, it goes on to say that forty three percent of the women surveyed were on the pill during conception while twenty... more

In my recent post, You Can be a Good Mother, I discussed how just about any woman can be a good mother if she puts her mind to it, applies herself, and is determined. However, after thinking about it, I forgot to mention two major challenges that one might deal with, that could prevent someone from being a good mother, if they are not dealt with.

If a woman has some forms of mental illness, it doesn’t necessarily mean that she will not be a good mother, however if she does... more

Not too long ago, I wrote a post about birth control as one of the things you will need to think about after the birth of your baby is what type of birth control method you are going to use. In that post, I mentioned the birth control pill as a popular form of birth control. A new article out of The Money Times sheds light... more

Many times I have heard birthmothers say that they were worried about their ability to parent and their parenting skills. They wondered if they could be a good mother and some may let these fears get in the way of parenting. Of course, these are all legitimate concerns and some women may deal with these concerns and think about before even getting pregnant, but if you are facing an unplanned pregnancy these thoughts may be coming up more frequently and you have to deal with them now as you decide whether you should parent or make an adoption plan.

When I ended up... more

In my last post, I discussed breastfeeding and listed some of the benefits of breastfeeding, but you may be wondering if you can breastfeed even though you are making an adoption plan.

The answer is yes! Some adoption agencies and other adoption professionals may tell you that you can not breastfeed, but you can. They may want you not to breastfeed for the simple reason that breastfeeding a baby gives you a chance to bond on such an intimate level that... more

As an expectant mother someone may have mentioned breastfeeding to you. This can be a touchy subject to some mothers considering adoption – I didn’t even want to think about it! But you may want to give it some thought, especially if you are leaning towards parenting. Whether or not to breastfeed is a personal decision, but one that you should educate yourself on. In this post, I will discuss breastfeeding in general and in the next post I will discuss it more specifically in the context of breastfeeding while making an adoption plan.

Many doctors consider breastfeeding... more

The recently released results of a new study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology show that there is a correlation between the amount of caffeine a pregnant woman consumes and miscarriage.

Most doctors warn pregnant women to cut back on their caffeine intake, but this study is saying that pregnant women should avoid caffeine in any form (coffee, tea, soft drinks, etc) because pregnant women who consume caffeine (even in small amounts) are at a higher risk of miscarriage than those who do not. This study involved more than 1,000 pregnant women... more

Teenage pregnancy sure has been in the news a lot lately. First, teen pregnancy hit the big screen in the much talked about movie Juno ,which is the tale of a high school student who ends up in an unplanned pregnancy, realizes she isn’t ready to be a parent, and makes an adoption plan.

Teen pregnancy splashed the headlines again when Jamie Lynn Spears, sixteen year old star of the Nickelodeon show Zoey 101, announced the news of her own... more