When I was a teenager, I faced an unplanned pregnancy. Due to the influences around me, I nearly decided to terminate. During my first visit to the clinic, while lying on the exam table, the medical staff discovered that I was further along than the ultrasound had initially indicated.
Linda's Story
The greatest gift I have received in my life was my adoptive parents Ralph and Lucille. Amazingly, it was my birth Mom MaryAnn who gave me this gift, one I am forever grateful for. Every young woman who finds herself in this position has a choice to make, I love MaryAnn for saving my life first and foremost, and then choosing adoption when she was not prepared to care for me herself.
Maryellen’s story
Pauline's Story
The Pearce family of Chicago is always together happily. Pauline, her husband TJ, and their two young sons, Kendrick and Ari. Also in attendance for special get-togethers, or most days for that matter, is Maryellen Kandu, or “Mimi,” Kendrick’s birth mom.
When the Pearces adopted Kendrick, they went the route of open adoption, which generally consists of varying degrees of communication exchanges over the years. But after seeing Maryellen about once a month for the first year of Kendrick’s life, Pauline and Maryellen developed a friendship.
Panel: A First-Hand Look Into The Hearts & Minds of Moms Who Place for Adoption
(60-minute Workshop Panel) This is a very rare opportunity to hear directly from birth moms — why they chose adoption for their babies, what they expected and what was on their hearts at the time. Learn whether & how they stayed involved in the child's upbringing, how they got support & care after placement, and how they feel now looking back on their decision.
Linda's Story
Triple the Love! The Gift of Open Adoption
I am an adoptive mom and an open adoption pioneer. In 1993 when my husband and I decided to adopt a baby, we signed up with an agency that was practicing a new kind of adoption called Open Adoption. This is an arrangement in which the biological parents and the adoptive family know each other’s identities and choose to remain in contact after the adoption is finalized. This arrangement surprised us as we assumed that most adoptions were closed, sealed, and secret since that had been the prevailing practice for many years.