About This Video

At sixteen, Leah faced an unplanned pregnancy that changed the course of her life. In this video, she shares how she moved from fear and uncertainty to a place of peace, choosing an open adoption that let her stay connected to her daughter’s life. Leah’s story speaks to the strength it takes to place a child in love, and the hope, grief, and purpose that can coexist along the way. Today, she uses her experience to support other birth mothers and to help educate adoptive parents on how to walk this journey well.

Watch the full video: https://hudsonheartsadoption.org/birth-mother-resources/#leah

Video Transcript

So I was 16, just had my 16th birthday. And starting my junior year of high school, I had been dating someone off and on.

So when I saw the two pink lines and telling my parents, thankfully they were supportive of me because they had experienced unplanned pregnancy as well in college. And so I feel very fortunate to have their support throughout my pregnancy and through post-placement.

I was about six weeks pregnant when I found out. I just had this deep knowing that she had purpose in this world and that she was meant to be here. I was like, I’ll just figure this out. My mom was a single mom. I’ll, I’ll figure it out.

I was willing to do all the things I needed to do, the sacrifice things, but I just could not find peace with it. That drove me to look more into adoption. I thought adoption was secrecy. I thought it was closed off. I thought it was, you know, a disconnection of biological roots. Once I learned that open adoption with visits was possible, that’s where I realized it could be done differently than it had been done in the past. When you’re seven months along, you’re running outta time and I was like, I need to make a plan.

Either way, looking at profile books, that was a really weighted, and I would say grief filled moment to admit I’m not in a place to parent, and I’m looking at families who can fill that gap for me. We met about a week after looking at their profile book.

We got to know each other and we discussed what this open adoption looked like for us. And being two to three hours apart, we decided that two visits a year would be our bare minimum together. And so I left that meeting feeling peace again. In the hospital experience, it just felt like kind of like a family reunion ’cause it was all these really important people that I had bonded with and felt really supported by.

And I remember standing outside the hospital doors and her mom looked at me in tears and said, this is not goodbye, is goodbye for now. And so again, it assured me that they knew the importance of me being in their life too.

There’s the grief, but there was also the hope and also the peace of I knew that I was doing what I was supposed to do. Post-placement writing became such an important part of releasing and working through my feelings.

My heart has been so drawn to adoptive parents and educating them ’cause I feel so grateful for the adoptive parents who loved me so well through the years. I partner with other adoptive parents who are beginning this journey to know how to do that too.

But, ’cause we don’t wanna overwhelm her with too much information. Yes, but we wanna give her that like we are a big family, and there’s lots of other people that will be ready doing consultations and being part of the home study process, or being part of the profile books. It’s so that I can advocate for birth moms and I can advocate for adoptees, and adoptive parents are the key to that because they hold the cards after placement. And if I can have these conversations and share my story, they can learn and they can do better. That’s the core of it, the ripple effect.

So now I have five kids with my husband. As with a lot of families, Christmas trees are like stories be painted. And so we have a lot of special ornaments that we like to reminisce on each year. And this one was when she was a year old and it says mother and daughter. Being a birth mom is, I would say, sacrifice. It’s loving your child from a distance wholeheartedly.

So this is the introduction to my book. No one dreams of one day becoming a birth mother. In reality, becoming a birth mother is a slow progression, for redemption to take place. There has to be a fall and there has to be an end to ourselves of our own efforts before he can make something new in his way. It can be really hard to work in adoption and relive my story every single day, but I do it for the birth moms who come after me.

Video courtesy of BraveLove. Hudson Hearts Adoption is a proud partner of BraveLove, a nonprofit working to change the perception of adoption through storytelling, education, and support for birth mothers.

About This Video

At 19, Emily faced an unplanned pregnancy while balancing college, an honors program, and the fear of disappointing the people she loved most. In this video, she shares how she moved through fear and uncertainty to a decision rooted in strength, discovering that adoption gave her the chance to stay connected to her children’s lives while still pursuing her own goals. Emily’s story speaks to the resilience it takes to choose adoption, the beauty of an open relationship built on trust, and the peace that can come from knowing you made the right choice for your family.

Watch the full video: https://hudsonheartsadoption.org/birth-mother-resources/#emily

Video Transcript

My adoption journey started. Um, I was 19. I was just finishing my freshman year of college. Had gotten into a not very healthy relationship, but being from a conservative, very Christian household, didn’t wanna tell them about it because I was staying with him over the summer to stay at school and was afraid that I was pregnant while I was there. Took the pregnancy test and I was, I just remember feeling panicked, thinking, you know, this was never supposed to happen to me. I don’t want this. I wanted to just make it go away and not tell anybody. And I’ve been a daddy’s girl my whole life, very close to him, but I still didn’t feel like I could tell him any of this because disappointing him was my greatest fear. I was young, you know, 19 in college, was in an honors college full-time tuition.

Really had goals that I wanted to achieve. The next step was gonna be to tell my parents, the conversation was heavy and emotional, but I felt heard and loved. I was still scared and I still had maybe 10% of me that wasn’t sure what choice I was gonna make. But it felt encouraging to have options ahead of me. Meeting with the adoption agency opened my mind to all the ways that I had the power to make a decision. I could be involved and see the children grow up and be as much a part as I wanted while still achieving my goals in life. Had no idea that that was possible. That made it even harder to think of possibly making a different choice than adoption.

There is a beautiful life inside me and ended up being beautiful lives when it turned out to be not just one baby, but two, it’s like, wow. Double the gift to give to people who could make these lives really beautiful. Looking through profile books was a really interesting experience. You could put your whole life into a book and people judge it by that. And the caseworker knew what I was looking for and she said, well, there’s actually a couple that isn’t in the pool right now that we think is exactly what you’re looking for. How about we reach out to them? And so we picked one meeting and it was natural from the beginning. I made that decision. I was like, I want them to be part of this. Prepping for the hospital was intense. And we had planned on the adoptive family coming afterwards, but in the moment it was like, you know what, I’m, I would like for them to just be here.

And so they actually brought a photographer, which was awesome. And then the mother stayed across the hospital hall and she would keep the twins while I slept. And then we’d feed them together like two in the morning. And we really had some of the deepest conversations we’ve had to this day in those couple days together, just opening up even more about parts of my story and bonding.

So we, we walked out together and then, you know, I let them take the twins and getting into the car, I think I just broke down in tears and it was really difficult. And those first couple days were very hard. But I knew I had made the right decision. I knew I’d picked the right family, but I chose adoption. But I knew like I didn’t want that to be the end. We knew from the beginning that both sides wanted an open adoption. She was gonna send me pictures, you know, getting to see in person how they were being treated and loved and just completely cared for. And knowing that I loved them just as much and I hadn’t lost that by placing them for adoption. Having that closeness helped me appreciate it, you know, and heal more.

I was able to settle in a life, got a career job, you know, and be more and more part of their lives. It’s maybe harder ’cause they’re still young, you know, they’re only, they’re five, which is crazy. But we’re keeping that openness to where, just take it as it goes. This is your choice. You know? No one can make this choice for you. I don’t think that someone plans for this to happen, but here you are and you’re not alone.

Did I make mistakes? Maybe? Did I make choices? I could have done differently, yes. But if I had, I wouldn’t be here and there wouldn’t be two beautiful children living their life, you know, happy and healthy. This adoption journey has transformed me in many ways. You know, I would never have chosen this for myself, but I wouldn’t take it back. I’ve been able to openly give love wherever is needed.

Video courtesy of BraveLove. Hudson Hearts Adoption is a proud partner of BraveLove, a nonprofit working to change the perception of adoption through storytelling, education, and support for birth mothers.

About This Video

Susan kept her pregnancy a secret at first, unsure of what to do or where to turn. After finding a community of birth mothers through BraveLove, she discovered that adoption didn’t mean losing her son — it meant choosing a life for him built on love, honesty, and connection. Her story speaks to the power of community, the strength of building trust in a semi-open adoption over time, and the joy of watching that relationship grow into an extended family.

Watch the full video: https://hudsonheartsadoption.org/birth-mother-resources/#susan

Video Transcript

My name is Susan and I’m a birth mom. I kept my pregnancy a secret initially a very long time. I was in high school, I was a junior, and then told my parents. My parents were very disappointed, and they didn’t know about the relationship in general, so all of it was a huge surprise. But my parents were very forgiving and loving through the process. And we met with the caseworker and she walked me through the process. Had no understanding of open adoption, closed adoption. I found BraveLove when I was pregnant and met some really cool people through the internet who had placed. So when I was able to look at the BraveLove website at that time, it gave other birth mom’s stories, and I was able to see that other women were able to make this choice and to still see their child and know their child and see the joy that that brought, but the big thing it brought me was a community. Even if it was just virtual, I would have people who I was able to contact and say, “This is going on,” and they had been there, and that was what was so helpful is the community of people.

The adoption agency that I used did make me make an adoption plan and a parenting plan, because they didn’t want me to feel forced in the moment of meeting my son of, I have to do adoption. When I looked through books, I found a family, the first family I looked at, and I knew. I knew they had an older child who was three at the time. They weren’t the rocker parents that I was looking, thinking that I wanted, however, they were so active and liked hiking and liked sports. And I could see the life that my son could have with a big brother and with parents who took him out and loved adventure, and were gonna take him to explore and do things. And I met the adoptive family in October, and my birth son was born in December. My dad drove me to the hospital to deliver my birth son, and when we got there, he stopped and he looked at me in the face and said, “There are gonna be people who have a lot to say about your decision, but this is your decision. This is your child, and you have to make the best choice for him. You cannot base it on of what people are gonna think of you or people’s judgment, because at the end of the day, this is your son and you have to make choices for him.” And I did, and I’m very thankful for the support of my parents and the support of my birth son’s parents. I know that this is what our relationship was supposed to be and I’m very thankful.

I’d soaked in every second of my time with him in that hospital. I loved him, I told him what I wanted for him, the dreams that I had for him and leaving was horrible. We started with a semi-open adoption, just so that we could get to know each other and build a relationship. Semi-open adoption, you know what state they live in but not the specific area. We met at the adoption agency. We had our caseworker there with us during visits to make sure it was smooth. At the end of the day, they were strangers to me at the time, and I was a stranger to them, and we had to build that trust of communication and boundaries and things like that. And I think I’m so glad that they encouraged me to do it that way ’cause we were able to grow in an organic relationship, and we had people to help us and guide us in doing that. I had him in December of 2012.

August of 2013 came and they surprised me and wanted to open the adoption, which was the best. So then they opened the adoption, and he wore a shirt that had his full name on it, and, you know, where they lived, and we had many, many visits. They were so accommodating and loving to me. They’ve always treated me as though I’m family, and it’s been a blessing. I did finish college in 2015, and I also got married in 2015. I do social work for my community, and I have a three-year-old little girl who calls my birth son her brother. They have the best relationship I’ve ever seen above anything I ever could have imagined. It’s such a blessing. Being a birth mom is amazing. It’s a blessing. It is incredibly hard. Being a birth mom involves so much trust in people who you really don’t know at the time. Being a birth mom brings an extended family that you never would’ve imagined, and I’m just so thankful.

Video courtesy of BraveLove. Hudson Hearts Adoption is a proud partner of BraveLove, a nonprofit working to change the perception of adoption through storytelling, education, and support for birth mothers.

Sobre este video

Kelsey creció en una familia formada tanto por hijos biológicos como por hijos adoptados, y años después se convirtió ella misma en madre biológica en dos ocasiones. En este video, comparte su camino a través de circunstancias difíciles, la fortaleza de elegir una familia con el corazón, y la hermosa relación que ha construido con las familias adoptivas de sus hijos. Su historia también incluye la perspectiva de Rachel, madre adoptiva de Anaya, quien habla del honor y el amor que sintió al formar parte del proceso de adopción desde el principio. Juntas, su historia muestra cómo el amor puede expandirse en lugar de dividirse, y cómo cada niño puede crecer rodeado de toda su historia y toda su familia.

Mira el video completo: https://hudsonheartsadoption.org/birth-mother-resources/#kelsey

Transcripción del video

Me llamo Kelsey Lynn. Soy madre biológica, así que soy la bebé de ocho hijos. Mis padres tuvieron cuatro biológicos y adoptaron cuatro. Yo era la segunda de los hijos adoptados, somos muy unidos. Cuando descubrí que estaba embarazada de Malachi, estaba encarcelada. Llamé a mi mamá, le conté, decidí que iba a criarlo. Así que pasé todo el embarazo en prisión. Y luego él nació. Pude pasar tres días con él, y luego se fue a casa con mis padres y yo volví a la cárcel. Él venía a visitarme todos los fines de semana. Y luego, cuando salí, me costó mucho adaptarme de nuevo a las cosas.

Hay muchas cosas que no se dicen de la maternidad de las que mucha gente se avergüenza. Sin mamá y papá, probablemente no lo tendría bajo mi custodia por algunas de las cosas que he hecho. Estaba saltando de hotel en hotel, durmiendo en los coches. Me hice una prueba de embarazo en broma y salió positiva. Cuando descubrí que estaba embarazada de Anaya, las cosas que estaba haciendo no eran la forma en que quería que ella creciera.

La trabajadora social de adopción trajo todos los libros, y yo estaba emocionada, pero nerviosa. Los puse ahí. Así que yo estaba como, tenía que elegir los tres primeros por encima de ellos, y luego elegí a la familia. Lo vi y pensé, lo sabía. Era la sonrisa de Rachel. Era su sonrisa la que me decía, es casi como un abrazo, pero una sonrisa.

Cuando, eh, nos casamos un par de años después, empezamos a intentarlo y simplemente, no, no pasó. Así que empezamos el proceso de adopción. Tuvimos la oportunidad de hablar con varias futuras mamás que estaban considerando la adopción, y recuerdo haber pensado qué privilegio era que estuvieran dispuestas a compartir esa historia. Le dio una cara y un nombre a las mamás que estaban considerando un plan de adopción. Mi mayor deseo para cualquier padre con el que conectáramos, si iban a elegirnos para criar a su hijo, que lo hiciera de todo corazón. Y no para decir que no hay duelo o que no va a ser un proceso difícil, que aún así pudiera sentir todas esas cosas.

Cuando los conocimos, fue, probablemente llevábamos 15 minutos y estábamos conversando, y miré a mi mamá y le dije, hijo, todos lloraron. Todos están felices. Pero todos lloraron. En un par de semanas, empezó a pedirme que fuera a todas las citas previas al nacimiento de Amaya. Nunca había estado en una ecografía antes. Nunca había escuchado, ya sabes, el latido del corazón de un bebé. Fue un gran honor que ella quisiera que yo fuera parte de eso.

Así que me sentí, me sentí muy, muy honrado. Así que fue difícil en el hospital. Tuve mis momentos, pero hice las paces con mi decisión, y estoy muy contento con las decisiones que tomo. El momento más dulce que creo que compartimos fue Rachel, yo, y Anaya, y ambos besamos un lado de su mejilla. Ese fue el momento que atesoraré absolutamente para siempre.

Cada niño tiene una familia entera a la que está unido. Cada niño tiene una comunidad entera a la que está unido. Kelsey es, ella es la madre biológica de, de mi hijo, pero yo, yo como que encuentro las relaciones con las madres biológicas de mis dos hijos. Es como si fueran hermanas. No somos hermanas, pero siento la misma emoción y alegría cuando puedo interactuar con ella. Esta noche nos reuniremos para celebrar la adopción. Kelsey y su familia podrán unirse a nosotros. Es importante celebrar porque queremos que nuestros hijos conozcan toda nuestra historia, su historia completa. Es una de las mayores bendiciones que pude encontrar. Sus padres, la familia extendida que ganamos, los amamos y los valoramos muchísimo, y juntos podemos amarla aún más.

Video cortesía de BraveLove. Hudson Hearts Adoption es un orgulloso socio de BraveLove, una organización sin fines de lucro que trabaja para cambiar la percepción de la adopción a través de historias, educación y apoyo a madres biológicas.

About This Video

Three birth mothers share different moments from their adoption journeys — from the fear of unexpected labor, to letting go of preconceived ideas about adoption, to the powerful words of a father’s support, to the emotional reunion of a birth mother meeting her son years later. Together, their voices reflect the range of emotions woven through the adoption journey: fear, discovery, strength, and eventually, reunion.

Watch the full video: https://hudsonheartsadoption.org/birth-mother-resources/#whyadoption

Video Transcript

Birth Mom 1:
So I went into labor and I was at work. And at that moment, the fear shot through me because I didn’t know what was getting ready to happen.

Birth Mom 2:
All the assumptions and ideas that I had around adoption, it’s uh, quite the opposite. And I started looking through all the books.

Birth Mom 3:
My dad drove me to the hospital to deliver my birth son, and he’s, when we got there, he stopped and he looked at me in the face and said, there are gonna be people who have a lot to say about your decision, but this is your decision. This is your child, and you have to make the best choice for him. You cannot base it on what people are gonna think of you or people’s judgment, because at the end of the day, this is your son and you have to make choices for him.

Birth Mom 1:
This is so and so from Department of Social Services. Your son wants to meet you. I finally got the call and I walked away from everybody and, and I said, I think I’m your mother. And he said, I think you are too.

Video courtesy of BraveLove. Hudson Hearts Adoption is a proud partner of BraveLove, a nonprofit working to change the perception of adoption through storytelling, education, and support for birth mothers.

About This Video

Robyn’s story begins in 1987, when she was a senior in high school and became pregnant in secret, terrified of the consequences she had been raised to expect. Her journey reflects a different era of adoption — one marked by shame, silence, and a closed process that left her to labor and deliver completely alone. Decades later, Robyn shares her story to break that silence, honoring how far open adoption has come and standing as a voice for birth mothers who were never given the chance to speak.

Watch the full video: https://hudsonheartsadoption.org/birth-mother-resources/#robyn

Video Transcript

My name is Robyn and I’m a birth mom. So my story begins in 1987. I was a senior in high school and thought I knew what love was, and was having morning sickness, and I was at work one day and passed out. I was raised to believe that if I ever got pregnant, I would be thrown out, so I didn’t want to be homeless and pregnant. So that set off my nine-month secret. I began to buy baby items and hid them in the trunk of my car.

And by day, I worked at a local insurance company. The supervisor that I had at the time turned me into the employee assistance program, and I met with a counselor. I finally admitted I was pregnant. They did an ultrasound. The doctor came in and said, “You are nine months pregnant and you are due in a week.” My parents were both divorced and remarried at the time, so there was actually double the amount of people that you had to tell, so it was double the amount of people that you had mad at you. After a day or two of really thinking about it and thinking, “I can’t provide for this child by myself. If they still want to throw me out, I can’t be homeless with a baby. I can’t give this child anything really that he needs,” so I consented to placing him for adoption.

So I went into labor and I was at work, and at that moment, the fear shot through me because I didn’t know what was getting ready to happen. And because I was placing him in an adoption, they did not let anybody in the room with me. I went through 13 hours in the hospital of labor and delivery by myself, no family, no friends, no father of the baby. And at that moment, I told the doctor, “I don’t wanna see him when he’s born.” Because I had had this pregnancy that everybody was so ashamed of, my father thought it would be in the best interest to tell the hospital, “She is not to be on the maternity floor with other babies and other moms. You will put her on the fifth floor,” which was a surgical floor. So I was wheeled upstairs to the fifth floor and he told the hospital absolutely no visitors and no gifts, no flowers, no nothing.

A social worker came in, and when it came time to sign the birth certificate, she asked if I wanted to name him, and I said yes, because I figured that was the only thing I had to give him was a name ’cause they were calling him Baby Boy, Baby Boy. After we signed the paperwork, or I signed the paperwork, she said, “Do you want to see him?” And I said, “I do,” so I went downstairs with my boyfriend and we held him for about four hours. He was eight pounds, one and a half ounces, and 21 inches long. I was trying to take it all in as best I could, and then the next day, I left the hospital and left him there. And then, it was like taboo to talk about, wasn’t able to talk about it to anybody. It was more of a feel ashamed if you talk about it kind of thing. It was kind of one of those things where they wanted to sweep it under the rug, until one day, my stepdad told me I needed to give them an apology and I refused. I didn’t have anything to apologize for. That was it.

Watch the full video: https://hudsonheartsadoption.org/birth-mother-resources/#robyn

Video courtesy of BraveLove. Hudson Hearts Adoption is a proud partner of BraveLove, a nonprofit working to change the perception of adoption through storytelling, education, and support for birth mothers.

About This Video

At just 18, Tonya was navigating single motherhood, a difficult relationship, and a surprise second pregnancy all at once. When she chose adoption for her son, she found an agency that supported her decision without shame or judgment, and a family who has stayed close to her ever since. Now, decades later, Tonya reflects on watching her son grow into adulthood, the lasting bond she’s built with his adoptive parents, and the peace that comes from knowing you made the most selfless choice you could for your child.

Watch the full video: https://hudsonheartsadoption.org/birth-mother-resources/#tonya

Video Transcript

My name is Tonya and I’m a birth mom. The day I had my first child, I got kicked outta the house. I was 18 years old, and so I had to figure out how to raise her on my own, and I had to move in with her father for a very short time until he started abusing me, and then I left him and had to figure out how to take care of myself and a baby because she has what they call Turner syndrome. She’s missing a chromosome, so she was very sick. Got an apartment, just me and her, and that’s when I found out I was five months pregnant with my son.

So I was working with someone who said that they knew a family who wanted to adopt, and at that time, being only 20 years old, I had no idea what that meant, but the adoption agency was wonderful, and they came to the hospital when I had him. To me, I just feel like God was walking me through these hard decisions, because I had no parents. The first 24 hours that I had had him, he stayed in my room the whole entire time so that I could spend those moments with him because my heart knew that that was the last time I was gonna be his mom. But they were so good to me. Thankfully, he got to stay in there the whole time, and honestly, I just enjoyed that 24 hours with him, and I’ve got great pictures of that moment.

The adoption agency was good at helping me, counsel me through the decision to let me know that this is truly my decision. I never felt shame or guilt for my decision. It was one of the best decisions I had ever made, and the hardest. The journey of adoption has been pretty wonderful for me. I’ve been very lucky. I would be able to come over and see him, spend time with him. We spent Thanksgiving together last year, and he’s an adult now, so the relationship now is a little bit different in the sense that he’s trying to figure out where he belongs, but the adoptive parents still make the effort to set up vacations and spend time together.

The unexpected blessing has been to find such amazing adoptive parents that were so loving, and so loving towards me and my little girl, letting him know that this is your birth mom, this is who gave birth to you. And he’s always known that his whole life. He’s never once not known who I was. You have to make the best decision for your life, and if that is the best decision, you will get through it. There’ll be some days that’ll be great, and there’ll be some days that are hard, but you got this. And sometimes, we just have to tell ourselves that we are doing the best thing that we can for the situation that we’re in. It’s hard, it’s rewarding at times, it’s beautiful at times to sit back and watch your child flourish, but it’s the most selfless act that you can do.

Watch the full video: https://hudsonheartsadoption.org/birth-mother-resources/#tonya

Video courtesy of BraveLove. Hudson Hearts Adoption is a proud partner of BraveLove, a nonprofit working to change the perception of adoption through storytelling, education, and support for birth mothers.

About This Video

At 17, Leslie was resistant to the idea of adoption, carrying fears that placing her baby meant losing her forever. Through time spent at the adoption agency and getting to know a family who kept showing up for her — even during a difficult 28-day foster care period — Leslie found the peace she needed to move forward with confidence. Twenty-five years later, she’s still part of her daughter’s life, held close by adoptive parents who never stopped making room for her.

Watch the full video: https://hudsonheartsadoption.org/birth-mother-resources/#leslie

Video Transcript

I’m Leslie, and I’m a birth mom. I found out that I was pregnant when I was 17 years old, and I was introduced to a social worker at an adoption agency. I was very resistant to the idea of adoption, I didn’t wanna talk about it. As soon as I heard adoption, I was thinking, strangers take your baby, you never see them again. You don’t know anything about them, you spend the rest of your life wondering. As I was coming in and out of the agency, I would meet birth moms in passing, I would see potential adoptive families, you know, in waiting, whether they were coming in to meet with birth moms or meet with social workers, so I just kind of watched from a distance. All the assumptions and ideas that I had around adoption, it’s quite the opposite.

And I started looking through all the books, but I said no to all of them. One last one that my social worker brought me, and you know, I opened it up, and I saw this couple that I had seen not long ago. I’m gonna hold onto it. It’s the only one that I told my social worker that I would be interested in holding onto. So, February 8th rolls around, I go to the hospital because my daughter is on her way. I did not have the support of community, I didn’t have any of that, and I gave her to the nurse, and I went home. I just kind of shut myself off to all the things and all the people, but during that 28 days that she was in foster care, Phil and Ginger would call and inquire about their stuff and still ask about me, and regardless of what else was going on in their life, they took the time to ask about me and tell somebody that they were praying for me. And so when I was going out the door to meet them, I think it was the first time that I actually felt a total peace at the choice that I was making.

And over the course of, you know, 25 years, her parents have always allowed for me to be that person in her life, and encouraged the relationship. We try to do life together like any other normal family, and we love each other.

Watch the full video: https://hudsonheartsadoption.org/birth-mother-resources/#leslie

Video courtesy of BraveLove. Hudson Hearts Adoption is a proud partner of BraveLove, a nonprofit working to change the perception of adoption through storytelling, education, and support for birth mothers.

About This Video

Rebekah’s connection to adoption began before she can even remember — she was placed for adoption as a baby in an open adoption herself. Years later, while in college, she found herself facing an unplanned pregnancy and walking that same path from a new perspective, this time as a birth mother. Her story reflects the careful, thoughtful decision-making that went into choosing a family, the grace she extended to herself throughout the process, and the joy of watching her son grow into who he is today — five years later, and now alongside a baby of her own.

Watch the full video: https://hudsonheartsadoption.org/birth-mother-resources/#rebekah

Video Transcript

My name is Rebekah and I’m a birth mom. My adoption journey actually started when I was born, just because I was actually placed for adoption when I was a baby. It was an open adoption from the beginning. I had just recently gone to college. I finished my first year and I moved off of campus. I realized that something was wrong. I didn’t know exactly what it was, but then, you know, my first thought was, maybe I’m pregnant. Nothing in life happens by accident, and the way that you choose to navigate that kind of situation determines how you move forward with your life. It was that first initial shock of, you know, I am pregnant and now I have to figure out what to do. From there, it was not a question of abortion. It was a question of, can I raise this baby by myself, or should I go ahead and do what I know best in place for adoption? You have to think about the obvious factors that come into topic when you’re thinking about raising a baby. Do I have enough money to support a baby? Probably not, do I have a house? I lived with four other roommates. I wanted to try and finish my degree. It was easy growing up, I was just confident in who I was being placed for adoption, but now I had to make decisions for myself and for a child, lifelong decisions for them.

My boyfriend and I were still dating at the time and we agreed to come up to the adoption agency together and start looking at family books and we would flip through pages of families and just try and step into their lives and decide what family would be best to place this child with. The couple that we ended up choosing, you could see how much they loved each other in the book. You could see it over their home and the way that they presented themselves off of the pages, it was almost like they already kind of felt like family. I don’t wanna undermine the feelings that other women have in the hospital because it is a really difficult thing. I was sad, but there wasn’t tons of sorrow. It was more of this part of the journey is like coming to an end, but in a way it’s not, because this is just the beginning. So in the state where I live, you have 10 days to finalize your decision about your adoption. The night of the 10th night, it was hard to go to sleep, but I was still proud of myself and thankful for the family.

The relationship with the adoptive parents has gone extremely well. They’re almost, like I said, family to us now. If I have questions about how to raise my baby that I’m raising at home right now, I’ve asked her, you know, hey, what did you do with him? Just because I’m extremely proud of her. It’s been five years since the baby was placed and he is the most adorable, smart kid, funny kid I’ve ever met in my life. I’m so proud of him and everything that he’s become. I’ll always love him as one of my own. And now my husband and I are blessed with a baby boy of ourselves. And I think one of the biggest, most exciting parts of this new journey that we’re on is developing that connection between the first born and my kid that I have now. Adoption is. Adoption is grace. It’s a lot of grace for yourself, for other people and it’s beautiful. Adoption is beautiful. It’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever been a part of.

Watch the full video: https://hudsonheartsadoption.org/birth-mother-resources/#rebekah

Video courtesy of BraveLove. Hudson Hearts Adoption is a proud partner of BraveLove, a nonprofit working to change the perception of adoption through storytelling, education, and support for birth mothers.

About This Video

Twenty-two years ago, Wendy faced an unplanned pregnancy while already raising a young son on her own. Once she learned that open adoption meant she could choose her son’s family and stay connected to his life, everything changed. Her story reflects the strength it took to make that choice, the close relationship she’s built with her son and his family ever since, and the powerful truth she’s carried with her all these years: that her pain became her purpose.

Watch the full video: https://hudsonheartsadoption.org/birth-mother-resources/#wendy

Video Transcript

My name is Wendy and I’m a birth mom. It’s been 22 years. Life was hard. Life was hard. I was already raising a son with a partner that had a drug addiction who introduced me to that life. Me and my friend had talked about abortion and I was too far along. I was six months and my mother, she said, “There’s gotta be something else we’ve gotta come up with.” Lifetime movies is basically, is really what my perception of adoption. You hand over your baby and that’s it. You sign a paper and you don’t see them again, and later on, they try to find you in life. I didn’t know that there was open adoptions and you could pick parents. I was educated on that front. That changed the game.

It took one profile book. They said, “We just want a baby. We don’t care if it’s sick, black, white, we want a baby.” I was like, “Whoa, let me keep reading.” So that first page grabbed me. Putting my son into someone else’s hands was a big deal to me. I knew I had to be strong mentally and I knew I had to prepare myself for when the day had come for the placement. You really have to be mentally strong to just go into that place and just like, “I can do this.” And I chose to put my pain into purpose. And 22 years later, I was right. I mean, it was the right thing to do. As I fight back tears, these are happy tears because it was the best decision. It’s proven every day, every day.

We have a close, close connection now. He just showed up last week, it’s been seven days, he showed up at his brother’s football game. He just sat down beside me, outta nowhere and I was like, “I cannot believe you are here. A week before this interview, you show up. Look at God, look at God.” He’s going to college, something I’ve never done. He’s now giving his younger brother a reason to fight for college and he’s gonna be a history teacher. Just so proud of him. And his parents, they made it easy for me to love him from afar, but still connect.

Ah, I have such a good husband now. I have two kids with my husband, 11-year-old and a 18-year-old. And, you know, I still had my older son who’s now 24 and we still connect with my adoptive son and their family. They come to sporting events, we go to graduations together, vacation together, and we just, we blend very well. Being a birth mom is strong. And I love telling people that I’m a birth mom. I love sharing it with people. I love my story and I feel like that it can really, really change somebody’s else’s life. Their birth moms are holding a lot on their shoulders. Be kind. We are trying to do the best we can do with what we got. We sacrificed a lot just so a life could have a chance. There’s a lot of choices that we could have made that it would be different. We chose life and we just need love and support and kindness, you know, because it was a hard decision, a hard decision. But our pain is our purpose.

Watch the full video: https://hudsonheartsadoption.org/birth-mother-resources/#wendy

Video courtesy of BraveLove. Hudson Hearts Adoption is a proud partner of BraveLove, a nonprofit working to change the perception of adoption through storytelling, education, and support for birth mothers.

About This Video

When Adrianne found out she was pregnant, she initially considered ending the pregnancy, feeling that adoption had never been something she imagined for herself. As an African American woman raised in the church, she also carried the weight of cultural history and stigma around adoption within her community. Through the support of her mother, an adoption agency, and a caseworker named Libby who made her feel seen rather than judged, Adrianne found her way to an open adoption with a family she describes as her own. Her story speaks to faith, cultural identity, and the deep love that can exist between a birth mother and the family raising her son.

Watch the full video: https://hudsonheartsadoption.org/birth-mother-resources/#adrianne

Video Transcript

Adrianne:
When I first found out I was pregnant, I thought my life was over. I was in disbelief, and when I went to go get my first ultrasound, I laid and I just silently cried. My initial plan was actually to end the pregnancy. I had taken out a loan, I was gonna go to any length to get that taken care of. When I got the check in my hand was the first time that my child kicked me. I always imagined myself taking care of my own kids and things like that so I never imagined adoption being an option for me. Being an African American woman raised in the church, you know you didn’t wanna bring shame on your family, and oftentimes in the African American community, historically our children were taken from us. So the last thing that we wanna do is to willingly give our kids to somebody to take care of. But a lot of people don’t know that when a parent places the child in the care of a grandparent, or an aunt that’s still adoption one way or another.

My mom placed a packet of information on African American adoption on my bed, and I actually sat and wrote down the pros and cons of adoption versus keeping the baby. And the pros actually outweighed the cons. When I called my agency for the first time, there was this beautiful soft voice on the other side of the phone, her name was Libby and she was just amazing from start to finish.

Libby:
I was actually on call after hours. She seemed to already know some about what adoption was like, what to expect and what she wanted. But it was also walking through and finding out her background and her situation.

Adrianne:
She asked me you know what was my desire in a family and I told her you know I wanted an African American family and that I wanted them married and I wanted them to have a faith foundation. I didn’t feel judged, they made me feel like I was making a good decision and so knowing that really got me through the initial process of getting the adoption started.

When you place a child for adoption, that is a loss. I remember my mom she said, “Adrianne, you can’t go to bed crying and wake up crying.” And I was just like, mom, it hurts, it just hurts. I’m gonna miss my baby. I was just drawn to both Doug and Cheryl, them as a couple, and them as a family, their family background where they come from, where they live, I wanted them. I wanted nobody but them, and they were already placed with another birth mother. The young lady that they were placed with actually changed her mind at the last minute. I felt nothing but warmth and love from them both, Doug and Cheryl, they just embraced me. It just felt like family. Cheryl is just everything to me, she means the world to me, she is my baby momma because she takes care of my baby and she calls me her baby momma because I gave birth to her baby. I’m just glad she’s my son’s mom. Doug is really a silent giant, he’s a big guy with a big heart that is my son’s buddy. You know that’s that.

Libby:
The thing that stood out to me about Adrianne back then, she just has authentic wisdom and compassion and insight that could help anyone. But especially to hear her talk about her adoption story and her heart for wanting others to understand adoption.

Adrianne:
To this day I still work with my adoption company to do peer counseling and talk to women who are going through the same process. I wish that a lot more African American young ladies would take this step, it looks bleak right now and I know it’s gonna hurt, and I know it’s gonna be hard. But you’re gonna be fine. To be a birth mother, it takes a lot of heart and it takes a lot of strength. This is one of the greatest things a parent could ever do is to place their child into the hands of someone else to honor, and love and care for them. It’s about our children and once we get there, we’ll be alright.

I often have people ask me, will I go and get my son. I wouldn’t because he has great parents who love him and care for him, I wouldn’t want to break the heart of two people who have raised him. Being able to see my son in the flesh, touch him, hear him laugh, see him smile. I can get on a plane and go see him and just see his smile and I’ll be alright.

Watch the full video: https://hudsonheartsadoption.org/birth-mother-resources/#adrianne

Video courtesy of BraveLove. Hudson Hearts Adoption is a proud partner of BraveLove, a nonprofit working to change the perception of adoption through storytelling, education, and support for birth mothers.

About This Video

Six birth mothers share fragments of their stories — the fear of losing control, the weight of secrecy, the chaos that made adoption the right choice, and the quiet strength of choosing to speak openly about it after finding success and peace on the other side. Together, their words reflect a shared truth: that adoption can be an act of love for both a child and a mother.

Watch the full video: https://hudsonheartsadoption.org/birth-mother-resources/#why-adoption-2

Video Transcript

Birth Mom 1:
I discovered that I was pregnant. I thought I was losing all control and all the while I’m thinking in the back of my head. Am I ever gonna see my daughter again?

Birth Mom 2:
I was married and I had already had three kids.

Birth Mom 3:
My family kept it a secret.

Birth Mom 4:
No one knew about my pregnancy.

Birth Mom 5:
I knew I needed to do something because I knew that I could not parent that child in the chaos that I was living in.

Birth Mom 6:
I found myself back in the same scenario and I was faced with another unintended pregnancy. I love my children more than anything, they deserve everything that I dreamed up for them.

Birth Mom 2:
That was my act of love.

Birth Mom 1:
It was the best choice for my daughter, but in all reality, it was the best choice for me too.

Birth Mom 4:
It’s okay to tell my story.

Birth Mom 5:
I didn’t make the wrong decision because I have success now.

Birth Mom 3:
Who knew that it was gonna be so wonderful.

Watch the full video: https://hudsonheartsadoption.org/birth-mother-resources/#whyadoption2

Video courtesy of BraveLove. Hudson Hearts Adoption is a proud partner of BraveLove, a nonprofit working to change the perception of adoption through storytelling, education, and support for birth mothers.