ONE WORD AT A TIME

As a mother who became such- because of the miracle of adoption, I feel that it is my place to become a birthparent advocate. So many people believe in old school stereotypes when it comes to adoption. None of which I am going to repeat because it only reinforces the incorrect assumptions.

Words are power. We must chose our words wisely. And when one is speaking of a birthparent or their situation, words are very powerful. It is my point today to provide you all with a little education about the words that are appropriate to use in the new world of adoption. It takes one person at a time to change their words before it can become a pandemic of powerful enlightenment to the truth.

A birth mother does NOT "give up" her child. A person does not give up something they love, rather they give up a negative habit.
A birth mother does NOT "give away" her child. We give things away that we don't want. I've never met a woman who didn't want her child.
A birth mother does NOT "adopt out" her child. Babies are not kittens in a box at the front of the pet store.
And if a birth parent decides against adoption, they didn't decide to "keep it." As if the baby were an old couch they were debating getting rid of.

Birth parents either chose to "parent their child" or "place their child with an adoptive family" because they love their child so much that they want to provide the very best life for them. Every mother has a dream for her child and that doesn't change with an unexpected pregnancy. I physically cringe every time I hear someone say "she gave up her baby." Yet I don't know if educating them will make a difference.

I'm asking you to change your words so we can change the misconception about birth parents and steer away from the negative tone around the situation.

Change your words - change your world

It's a choice to change a few simple words.... just watch the power of a few simple words -