This summer AFTHtv dedicated its entire sixth season to serve as a program giving Black voices within the adoption triad (adoptive parents, birth parents, adoptees) the platform to discuss racial matters and adoption in today’s society. New episodes aired on the nonprofit’s official Facebook page and YouTube channel every Tuesday. Social workers and adoption counselors [...]
Today is national Grandparents Day, a day to celebrate the top integral figures of the family tree. In an open adoption adoptive parents can encourage a loving bond not just with their own parents, but with their birth grandparents as well. Delaware birth grandparents Chris and Adrienne have been present in their granddaughter Charlotte’s life [...]
Seven families set out on an adoption journey together, faced some unexpected challenges, and rose above the odds by creating a new family not only with their adopted daughters, but also with one another. The Beginning of Something Special It was an unsettling time. The Iraq war, the Gulf war and SARS were raging across [...]
Social workers often counsel married couples who are wondering how to place a baby up for adoption when the couple is faced with an unplanned pregnancy. There are many reasons why married couples choose adoption. For example, they are not ready to be parents, they may wish to not expand their family, or, some couples do [...]
By Samantha, an Adoptions From The Heart adoptee Ever since I understood the term “adoption” and what it means, I have wanted to meet my birth parents. When I was younger, my dream was just that of a naïve child. I did not understand the complexity of feelings. I heard from my birth parents twice [...]
Misconceptions about birth mothers and birth fathers often sensationalize the real truth and reality behind adoption. The media often portrays the birth mother as an addict or a teen mother. In regards to the birth father, stereotypes often depict him as absent or uninvolved, or even as a rapist. These common misconceptions downplay the reality [...]
Birth Father’s Story Part 1 My girlfriend and I both grew up in upstate New York. When Jackie decided to move to Pittsburgh to go to school I came with her. We shared a small efficiency apartment and a one bench truck. I was working full time while finishing-up school. But after a while, we [...]
Jennifer, Rob, and Genevieve When Jennifer and Robert got married, they knew right away that they wanted to start a family. However, they quickly learned that conceiving a child would not be an option for them. After struggling with infertility – Jennifer and Rob decided it was time to begin considering other ways [...]
Ever since Jen was young, she knew she wanted to be a mother. The day finally came when a birth mother and a birth father came across her adoptive parent profile and they selected her even as a single mother. Jen had already been waiting a long time, and with the COVID-19 global pandemic, she [...]
Marilyn Rich is our Central PA District Supervisor and Search Coordinator. As an adoption search coordinator, Marilyn works to reunite long lost family members. Prior to working with AFTH, Marilyn worked in reproductive health care, where she assisted women facing unplanned pregnancies. Marilyn was always familiar with our agency because she often would refer women [...]
