Our Blog

  • Get Talking About Adoption With Oscar-Nominated Movies

    This guest post is by Addison Cooper of Adoption at the Movies On Sunday March 2, Ellen DeGeneres will be hosting the 86th Academy Awards. Two dozen or so little statues will be given to the filmmakers who have achieved greatness this year. Two of the nominated films have strong adoption themes. Philomena, nominated for Best Picture, highlights the journey of sixty-something Philomena Lee. As a teenager, Philomena gave birth in an Irish nursery. Her son was adopted, and she kept his existence a secret for

  • It Takes Love—And Work—To Create An Interracial Adoptive Family

    This guest post is by Marlene Fine and Fern Johnson, adoptive parents and authors. We are the white adoptive parents of two African American sons, both adopted when they were infants and who are now in their 20s. Our experience as white mothers of children of color has taught us much about the importance of helping children develop a healthy racial and/or ethnic identity. White adoptive parents of children of color from outside the U.S. are often encouraged to travel

  • 16 Things Adopting Parents Want An Expectant Mother Considering Adoption To Know

    As adopting parents, we know this is a difficult time for you. And while we don’t understand everything you’re going through, we do have a sense of some of the challenges you may be facing as you consider an adoption plan for your baby. In many ways, we’re on the other side of the same coin. Whereas you’re thinking of placing your baby for adoption, we would love nothing better than to adopt a baby through adoption. And like you,

  • Why Adoption Fundraising Is Necessary For Adopting Parents

    This guest post is by Jenny Lotz, an adoptive mother and blogger.  A lot of people don’t understand adoption, much less adoption fundraising. They wonder why adoptive parents expect others to foot the bill to “buy” them a child and make them happy. They wonder why it’s so expensive. They wonder why people don’t just give money to birth moms to help them raise the amount of money needed to raise their own child. They wonder why adoptive parents can’t just

  • What Open Adoption Means To Our Adoptive And Birth Family

    This guest post is by Jody Cantrell Dyer, an adoptive parent and author. Today, Valentine’s Day, I turn the “Big 4-0.” I expect I’ll mark the occasion with chocolate and reflection. Like most women, I’ll question, analyze, and remember big decisions in my life in great detail. One decision I made early in 2010 was to open my heart and mind to open adoption. That decision created a new dynamic and much bigger story for many. Our open adoption holds significant

  • Why I Chose A Forever Family To Adopt My Baby

    This guest post is by Elizabeth, a birthmother. Two years ago, when I was 13, I found out I was pregnant.  I knew that at my age I would not have been able to give my baby the care she needed, whatever she wanted, and everything she deserved. I wanted her to have a forever family. I wanted her to have a father that loved her more than anything. Something that without placing her, I wouldn’t have been able to

  • How I Became A Birth Grandmother And Learned The True Meaning Of Open Adoption

    This guest post is by Janet, a birth grandmother and blogger.  When my 19-year-old, unmarried daughter came to my husband and I, and told us she was pregnant, we were understandably upset. Even though I had been worried about her for a long time, I was still unprepared to hear this news. She then told us that she had already decided that she was going to choose adoption. We were immediately supportive, and told her we loved her and would

  • Why An Adoption Support System Is Vital For All Members of the Triad

    This guest post is by Jessalyn Bills from Birthmothers4Adoption Adoption for any member of the triad is emotionally exhausting. It can be incredibly hard to navigate all the bits and pieces. An adoptive couple has to deal with their infertility/sterility/or any other problem that may prevent them from bearing a child of their own. They have to raise enough money. They have to sit through hours of paperwork, fine tuning profiles, and making sure every last detail is taken care of. They then have

  • Colin Kaepernick’s Birthmom: What I’ve Learned Since Last Year’s Super Bowl

    This guest post is by Heidi Russo, a birthmother and VP of Three Strands A year ago this week, my phone was ringing non-stop. Reporters and TV shows from across the country, including “The View” and “Anderson Cooper”, were calling “to tell” my story. “Inside Edition” even offered me a lot of money just to come to my home and take my picture during the Super Bowl, which I refused. I was so shocked and overwhelmed by the sheer number

  • I Was Born To Be An Adoptive Mama

    This guest post is by Allie Ferguson, a hopeful adoptive parent I’ll resist the urge to be corny and say that some things are meant to be. But I do believe that. I don’t think my inability to conceive a biological child was some random tragedy. I simply don’t think it was supposed to happen. I believe, more and more with every passing day, that I was always meant to grow my family through adoption instead and that my heart has