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Article #97: From Infertility to Adoption: Knowing When to Move Forward

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When is the right time to move from We have suffered seven pregnancy losses.
infertility to adoption? When do you We have experienced infertility,
emotionally feel ready? Will you ever miscarriages, a fetal demise, and a tubal
feel ready and must move forward with pregnancy with twins. In between the
other ways of creating your forever losses, we did have one full term birth
family! Mardie Caldwell, through her of our daughter. It is a hard call. I
personal experience and over 20 years of have always told my adoptive parents that
working with couples nation-wide, has they need to work on creating their
made it her life's work to bless children family, and if they want to try
needing forever adoptive parents. infertility treatments while trying to
How do couples decide to move forward in adoptive parents, they should. I just
adoption as opposed to doing donor embryo couldn't imagine using birth control when
or IVF? trying to adopt after all the effort of
We just had our third try with IVF with attempting to get pregnant, and I've
my own eggs. Our doctor told us that I never felt I should ask my prospective
was a poor responder and the quality of adoptive parents to do something I
my eggs is not good. He said our only wouldn't do.
options are either with donor embryo or Just a few years ago my OB-GYN gently
adoption. I am just trying to work said to me, "Mardie, why are you doing
through the loss of both a dream and of this to your body?" in reference to all
the babies we fertilized and trying to the pregnancies and then losing them. I
decide the best direction for us. I still know he just didn't understand the desire
have such a passionate desire to "carry to give it one last try. A few months
life" in me, but I am not sure if that later he discovered pre-cancerous cells
will go away once I start the adoption in my uterus, and I underwent a
process or adopt. Does it? My fear with hysterectomy shortly after that. Knowing
trying donor embryo is if it doesn't I would never carry a child again was
work, can I take another "failure" after difficult.
all our losses. My fear with adoption is Even with my "oven" (or as my daughter
that it might take years or the adoption calls it her "first home") gone, I still
might keep falling through. My only have moments when I experience "signs of
experience with adoption is a co-worker pregnancy" and forget it is not possible
with an older child adoption that has not for me to carry a baby. After so many
been good. I realize there is no years of wanting and trying and planning
guarantee with either path, but it is for babies, old habits are hard to break.
such a difficult decision, I am curious I counsel prospective adoptive mothers to
as to what led other adoptive parents to pray that if God doesn't want you to be a
their decisions. mother, He would take the desire away.
Mardie's reply: For me, the desire didn't leave me, and
We decided that it was more important for we adopted our son. You need to be honest
us to be parents than to be pregnant. My with each other and find a medical
biological clock was ticking, and we had professional whom you can trust. The
to decide what we wanted most in our chances of success in adoption are so
family. much greater than with infertility
We moved from infertility to adoption and treatments. When comparing the cost of
then after our first adoption of our son, infertility treatments and the cost of
we tried some mild infertility treatments adoption, you will discover more help in
again. We didn't have a lot of money to financing and grants for adoption than
do extensive infertility drugs or infertility. Though the emotional ups and
procedures. downs are about the same, they vary
So, we decided that adoption was right depending on the adoption route you take.
for us. The decision to adopt came Needless to say, when you look down at a
surprisingly easy to both of us. We child in your arms and those beautiful
always wanted to adopt someday regardless eyes are peering back up at you, and you
of whether or not we had any biological know you are a mom-well, that is
children. So, it was a true blessing for priceless.
us. I always say - Don't give up; there is a
The desire you mentioned about "carrying baby for you!
life" inside of you is natural, and I Mardie Caldwell, C.O.A.P. is a speaker
think most women desire to conceive and and award-winning author of two books,
see their pregnancy go to term and Adopting Online and Adoption: Your
deliver a healthy baby. I still had that Step-by-Step Guide. Mardie is also the
when we adopted. I don't necessarily talk show host of Let's Talk with Mardie
think it wrong to have that feeling. Caldwell.






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