Birth Mother

Being a birth mother in the adoption triad, can make some women feel like they're the only person who didn't walk away with something "added" to their life. Sometimes they feel they were too naive or pressured by the other people around them to make a decision they weren't prepared for. Most of the time, the birth mother makes the decision in the child's best interest instead of her own. And that kind of sacrifice is one that she may feel goes unnoticed.

Making decisions after becoming pregnant can make one feel irrational, as there are so many hormonal changes taking place during a woman's first trimester. Luckily, there are so many social workers, counselors and health care providers who are looking to help a birth mother work through her adoption choices and rights.

As a birth mother, you have the right to choose who the child is placed with after birth. You choose to sign the paperwork that terminates your parental rights and you choose to allow the grace period in which you can revoke that decision to pass without changing your mind. You also choose whether or not you want to maintain a relationship with the adoptee and the adoptive parents post-placement.

It's common for birth mothers to mourn the adoption of a biological child and to think about the adoptee whenever large milestones in the child's life may pass, such as graduation or marriage. While these moments are not easy, the option for search and reunion is always a possibility once the child is 18. However, this is a complex side to the birth mother experience with plenty of legal hurdles explained in another section on Adoption.org.