A new reality television show recently aired on Oxygen titled "I'm Having Their Baby." I was pretty skeptical at first since I don't really care for reality t.v., other than a couple of the competitive ones on Food Network and a few on the main networks such as Who Do You Think You Are? (geneology), Secret Millionare, etc., but I have been pleasantly surprised.
Each episode presents two different birth moms who have decided to place their unborn children up for adoption. The episode follows the birth moms (and sometimes the selected adoptive parents) through the roller coaster that is adoption--birth moms changing their minds after the baby is born but before the paperwork is signed, family disagreeing with the birth mom's choice to place the child for adoption, birth moms changing their minds on who they want to adopt their child, etc.
The hard, raw emotions that are presented each week are somewhat tough to watch, but it is amazing to experience the process alongside the involved parties. Also explored a bit is open adoption. All of the stories I have seen so far have involved some level of openness since the birth moms chose the adoptive families; however, the level of openness following the adoption, while not explored too much on the show, seems to vary. When I first heard about any type of ongoing contact between a birth mom and the adoptive family, I will admit that it didn't seem like something I would want to do, but watching these girls (and sometimes women) making the hardest decisions of their lives has opened my eyes a bit to the fact that it's not just about the adoptive parents and the adopted child, but also about the lifelong impact on the birth mom.
Whether or not adoption may be in your family's future, this show is definitely worth checking out.
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