s part of the mission of Familias de Corazon, we provide adoptive families the opportunity to provide gift baskets to birth families three times per year. Two visits during the year based on birth family location and one at Christmas. During a recent visit to Guatemala, I chatted with Fide about the deliveries of this year’s Christmas baskets. I found her observations on the reactions of birth families to the gift baskets fascinating and wanted to share what she told me here.
6 Questions to Ask When Choosing a Guatemalan Birth Mother Searcher
You’ve finally made the decision to search for your child’s birth mother. Now what? It’s time to choose a search professional. Choosing a searcher can be daunting given that the future of your child’s relationship with her birth family rests in their hands. But as long as you do your research in identifying reputable searchers, choosing among them becomes a matter of personal preference, style and comfort.
Four Common Points of View on Maintaining Birth Family Relationships
One of the most common concerns I hear from adoptive families, both before and after searching, is how to maintain a relationship with the birth family and how to navigate the power imbalances inherent in that relationship. I’ve always believed that there is no right answer here and we are all just muddling through as best we can, that each family needs to take things as they come, look at all sides of issues that arise and then do what feels right for them and their family.
Why I've (Finally) Decided to Start a Blog about Guatemalan Birth Family Searching
Back in 2007, I began working with a Guatemalan birth mother searcher as her translator. In the 8 years since, I’ve worked with hundreds of adoptive families as they have navigated the process of searching for their children’s birth families. Each of their stories has been unique and each has taught me something new. For quite a while I have been thinking of starting a blog as a way to share what I’ve learned.