Birth mothers can offer so much to each other, adoptive families, and to the children. We just need to listen and hear what they are saying. For a birth mother, adoption can be the hardest and most rewarding experience in their lives, just as adoption is for the adoptive family. Let’s take a moment to celebrate these amazing and strong, beautiful women with some of their own words. Here are 20 quotes from birth mothers:
- “There are two different kinds of strength. There’s the strength to make a parenting plan and then there’s the strength to give that plan to another.” – Unknown
- “He is mine in a way that he will never be hers, yet he is hers in a way that he will never be mine. And so, together, we are motherhood.” – Desha Woodall
- “The most important part of my adoption journey was realizing that my decision to place did not mean that I was not good enough. It was my circumstances, not my ability to mother, that made placement the right decision for me.” – Annaleece Merrill
- “Today I celebrate the day I became a Mother. I had a beautiful baby girl. I loved her with a love beyond my own abilities and comprehension. My love for her was a gift. It was the only thing that made it possible to place her into her loving parents’ arms just a short time later. Today, I will celebrate her. I will choose to remember it all: the amazing, the devastating, and the beautiful. Because for now, it’s the only gift I can give her.” – Emily Cooper
- “In adoption, a child is not given up. A birth mother gives life, a child a family, unconditional love. She gives a part of her heart that will never feel whole. She gives another mother a part of her heart that was missing…you give a lot, just never give up.” – Terra Cooper
- “From the moment I found out about you, I loved you. That loved didn’t even compare to the amount of love I had for you the day I placed you in you new parent’s arms.” – Jill Wong
- “If you love someone unconditionally and with your whole heart, then you will do what is best for them, not you. I have never learned a harder lesson than giving my child up for adoption, and I probably never will.” – Sarah Sowel
- “Adoption is the hardest thing you will probably ever do in your life. You feel like you heart is being ripped out. But, if you are doing it for all the right reasons, your life, will truly be blessed forever.” – Laura Gladden
- “I felt more love for my baby than I had ever experienced before. But I found that the more I loved him, the more I wanted to find out what would be best for him throughout his entire life. The things I wanted most for him (a stable family with a mother and father, a home to live in, a mother who could stay at home with him, financial security, etc.) were things I could not provide. So it was because I loved him so much that I chose adoption.” – Martina
- “I didn’t just give her away, I risked my happiness for her life.” – Janel Indingaro
- “As a birth mother, I did not give up my child. I did give up being that child’s mother, seeing their firsts, watching them grow up every day. But, I never gave them up. I placed my child in their family. I gave them everything I had and more. They are apart of me, my soul and heart.” – Ellie
- “It always made my day/week to get pictures and updates from my daughter’s adoptive parents. I felt like it was reassurance that I had made the right decision and she was indeed in the right place, where God intends her to be.” – Crystal Rae
- “A birth mother puts the needs of her child above the wants of her heart.” – Skye Hardwick
- “A birth mother’s conviction and knowledge of what she feels is right, is a force to be reckoned with.” – Jessa Speight
- ” It is not hard to know what is best, it is just hard to overcome all of the emotions involved.” – Haley M.
- “The decision to place is one of the most difficult I’ve ever had and probably will have in my life. Birth parents just need to realize that placing shouldn’t make you feel guilty and having a life after placement is okay. Your decision is for the both of you, child and parent. Birth parents have made an ultimately selfless decision and they deserve to have a life and not let that go in vain.” – Nicole Price
- “Forgive yourself for not having the foresight to know what now seems so obvious in hindsight.” – Judy Belmont
- “You are making another family extremely happy and you may not even realize it. I knew it, but it wasn’t until I saw the three of them together that next morning that I realized all their dreams had come true and it was thanks to me and my sacrifice for them. Keep that in mind when you make your choice if you can’t give the baby the love or life that you wish you could, there is a family here that can.” – Lona
- “A mother’s love for her child is like no other love. To be able to put that feeling aside because you want the best for your child is the most unselfish thing I know.” – Natasha W.
- The only way for me to get through my sorrow was to see their joy. And still today it gets me through. If you can find comfort and peace with your decision, you’ll not only get a second chance to life but your baby will too.” – Sara
Bonus:
“Giving birth does not make a mother. Placing a child for adoption does not make her less of one.” – Adoption.com
