Adoption Issues

There have always been families that have formed through adoption. If rates of infertility increase as predicted, then adoption could become an even more common way to form a family.

For those adopting, and for those being adopted, adoption is a very significant experience.

If you are adoptive parents, you may still be coping with feelings of grief associated with infertility at the same time as you are undergoing rigorous screening as adoptive parents. You may also be facing difficult decisions involved in adopting children with special needs or in cross-racial or more open adoptions.

If you have been adopted, you may have mixed feelings about searching for your birth parents. You may worry that your adoptive parents would be hurt by such a search, yet you still have an intense interest in your biological heritage. You may have unanswered questions about the development of your personality and identity.

Through the counselling process, you can speak with an objective professional about issues to do with adoption that touch your life. Are you and your partner ready to become adoptive parents? What are the personal risks and benefits of contacting a biological child or parent you have never met? Are you being realistic about what you could learn?