[Archive]

Originally Posted By Jessie

Single parents can be great parents, and I say again that any woman who is pregnant and single, and plans to place her child for adoption ONLY because she is single, please think well. Yes, I'm a mom through adoption...my son came home from Romania when he was almost two. He had been left in the hospital by his birthmom, placed in an orphange, and the family had no contact with him for the entire time he was there. He's a wonderful, beautiful little soul, and yes, he probably could have been adopted by a two-parent family, but as I said earlier, if anyone thinks he would have been more loved, or had a better life just because it was a married couple, I"ll say straight out that you're wrong.

My older sister gave birth to her first son back in 1974, when out-of-wedlock pregnancy was still frowned upon somewhat. She was a single mother who chose to parent the baby. It was HARD for her, very hard! She eventually did marry her boyfriend (the baby's dad) and they've done very well. But she proved she could do it alone, too. Now her daughter, my niece, is in the same situation. Pregnant and unmarried. She is also going to parent her baby.

If single women who are pregnant truly don't feel up to the challenge of raising their child, who feel financially or emotionally they're just not ready, adoption is a wonderful option. But let it be YOUR choice, not your parents', your friends' your minister's, your counselor's, or a stranger's choice. Because you are perfectly capable of raising that child as a single mom. It will be hard, there will be times that you'll wonder if you did the right thing, nights when you'll cry right along with your crying, screaming baby. You'll be tired and frazzled and scared. But it will pass. Build your support system of family and friends. Find support groups in your area (and there are such groups!). There is nothing wrong with being an adoptive parent, single or married, but there's nothing wrong with being a single birth parent, either! End of sermon! Best wishes to all.