When you’re considering placing your baby for adoption, one of the questions you may have is, “Will my baby’s adoptive parents love him or her as much as they would love their biological child?”
This is a common question asked by prospective birth mothers like you. However, in all of the years we’ve completed adoptions, we’ve found that genetic relationships are not the sole indicator of love; the desire to be a parent and have a child, no matter how they were brought into the family, is the strongest determination of a parent’s love for a baby.
To understand that adoptive parents will love your child like any other child that’s biologically related to them, you need to understand the journey that adoptive parents go through before an adopted child is placed with them.
W
hile there are some adoptive parents who knew adoption was right for them from the beginning, the majority of adoptive parents decide on adoption after going through months or years of infertility and medical treatments. It can be a difficult process, with costly and painful medications and treatments that unfortunately result in failure. In many cases, their parenthood journey has been filled with sadness and grief as they realize that a biological child will not be possible for them.
But, just because prospective adoptive parents may have spent so much time trying to have a biological child does not mean they can only love a biological child.
As prospective parents go through the infertility process, many realize that what’s really important to them is being parents — not having biological children. No matter how they add a baby to their home, the end goal is to have a child to raise and parent for the rest of their lives, even if the child is not genetically related to them. Once hopeful parents realize this, they begin looking into growing their family through adoption.
For them, adoption offers the opportunity to finally complete a lifelong goal. It’s the light at the end of the tunnel of an emotionally and physically challenging process of infertility — but the adoption process requires just as much work as the infertility process.
Not only do most hopeful parents have to save up for adoption, they must also be prepared to wait to be matched with a prospective birth mother like you. Deciding to start the adoption process, therefore, is not a decision they take likely. They’re willing to commit time, money and effort to add a child to their life — a child they already love enough to do so, even though they haven’t yet met.
When hopeful parents meet their adopted child for the first time, it’s a dream come true. For years, they’ve been waiting to become parents and, even though they’re not genetically related to their child, they can still experience all of the parenting joys they’ve wanted for so long. Finally, they’re parents to a child of their own — a moment they may have thought they’d never experience because of their infertility struggles.
In all the time they’ve been waiting to become parents, they’ve fully prepared to give their child all the love and opportunities they can offer. When a baby is finally placed with them after so many years of disappointment, they don’t take it for granted — they embrace every aspect of parenthood and work hard to be the best parents possible.
Thomas has been an exciting and wonderful addition to our family. He has made our family feel more complete and has brought such joy to all of our lives. Our love for him continues to grow each day in leaps and bounds. – Pam, adoptive mom
You may wonder, “If they already have biological children, how will I know they’ll love my baby the same?” But having previous biological children does not impact the amount or kind of love that an adoptive parent provides to an adopted child. Even if they already have children, they likely have been waiting just as long and gone through the same infertility struggles to bring another child into their home. It doesn’t matter to them that their second or third child is adopted; in fact, after a time, they don’t even think about the differences in how their children were brought into their family. All that matters to them is that your baby is an equally important member of their family.
When you choose to place your baby for adoption with A Child’s Hope, you can know that a prospective adoptive family will love your baby just as much as they would any other biological child they have. You will get the chance to choose and meet the family you want to adopt your baby, which will give you the opportunity to ask any questions you have — and learn more about why those prospective adoptive parents are excited to add an adopted child to their family.
A parent’s love for their child is one of the strongest emotions there is — and, when it comes to adoption, a lack of genetic relationship doesn’t affect that parental love. To learn more about how A Child’s Hope screens hopeful parents to make sure they’re physically and emotionally ready for adoption, and to start the process of finding parents for your baby today, please call our Pregnancy Hotline: (919) 971-4396, or Text: Pregnant to (919) 971-4396, or email ach@achildshope.com.
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