If you’re facing an unplanned pregnancy, you’re probably also facing a complicated mix of emotions. These may include confusion, uncertainty, sadness, and worry. You may wonder where to turn for help or worry if you’re making the right choice.
Know that there’s help available for you, and it’s designed specifically to meet your needs. It’s part of our pre-adoption counseling and peer support network.
Pre Adoption Counseling Services Available
Because adoption is such a life-changing event, you’ll need to have the best information and resources by your side before making any decisions. When you contact Lifetime Adoption at 1-800-923-6784, you’ll be set up with your own personal Adoption Coordinator.
She will work with you during your entire adoption journey. An Adoption Coordinator is your advocate and educator during every step of your adoption process. She will be there for you even after your adoption is complete.
Another important resource your coordinator can provide is access to a licensed, a third-party therapist. By “third-party,” we mean that this counselor has no personal interest in whether or not you follow through with adoption. She is there to help you sort through the range of emotions you might be dealing with. It often helps to speak with a non-biased counselor who’s not directly assisting with your adoption.
Deciding on adoption for your child can be difficult. Getting pre adoption counseling from a licensed professional can help you work through your decision-making process. It can also help you in coping with all the emotions that come up during your adoption journey.
Adoption is an emotional experience, and anyone thinking about adoption should receive the education they need to make the best decision for their situation. Lifetime will connect you with the support and counseling you need to process difficult emotions.
Peer Support
Many women like connecting with another birth mother using Lifetime’s peer support network. With peer support, you have the opportunity to be connected with another woman who has been where you are and chosen adoption.
It can be helpful to talk with someone who has chosen adoption and can answer your questions firsthand about what it was like for her. Even if her story is different, a peer counselor will understand the emotions you are feeling and the questions you may have. She can share her experience, like how she told her family, how she discussed adoption with the birth father, and many other tips.
The peer counselor can help you work through your emotions and provide you with resources. Many women who have contacted us say that speaking with someone who had gone down the same path really helped them. Says Jessica, 23, “I talked to a woman who placed her baby seven years ago. Because of her support, I knew what to expect after placement. I felt normal because of her; she was able to tell me ‘oh yeah I felt like that too. You aren’t crazy. You’ll get through this.’ She offered me a shoulder to cry on and didn’t judge me.”
You Are Not Alone – Birthmother Stories
There are many other women out there who are going through a similar situation. You are not alone, and there is a reason for hope as you begin to process what your next months and years will look like.
At Lifetime Adoption agency, we have worked since 1986 to help pregnant women find loving adoptive families for their babies. We have helped with many birthmother stories. We help you build an open adoption relationship with the family you’ve chosen and provide you with the most up-to-date adoption information and choices.
Since our founding, we have received many questions from women just like you. We can help you make an adoption plan for your child and find the right family for your child to grow up with.
A licensed adoption counselor and birth mother counselor are available for you to speak with both before and after your baby’s birth. Having these resources available makes it so that you’re fully confident with the decision of adoption for your baby.
All of Lifetime’s services are available at no charge to you. Lifetime Adoption’s staff are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. So you really can reach us at any hour!
Pick up your phone now and feel the relief of talking with someone about what you’re going through! Call or text with an Adoption Coordinator at 1-800-923-6784.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on December 13, 2016, and has since been updated.
As Vice President of Lifetime Adoption, Heather Featherston holds an MBA and is passionate about working with those facing adoption, pregnancy, and parenting issues. Heather has conducted training for birth parent advocates, spoken to professional groups, and has appeared on television and radio to discuss the multiple aspects of adoption. She has provided one-on-one support to women and hopeful adoptive parents working through adoption decisions.
Since 2002, she has been helping pregnant women and others in crisis to learn more about adoption. Heather also trains and speaks nationwide to pregnancy clinics to effectively meet the needs of women who want to explore adoption for their child. Today, she continues to address the concerns women have about adoption and supports the needs of women who choose adoption for their child.
As a published author of the book Called to Adoption, Featherston loves to see God’s hand at work every day as she helps children and families come together through adoption.
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