The impact of loss on adoptive parents
Adoptive parents gain in many ways - the opportunity to parent a child, to give love, wisdom and create a family legacy. But they lose too. They lose a genetic connection with a child, the opportunity to give birth, and perhaps even the first years with the child. They lose the privacy and control involved in building a family without outside intervention. And if their child is from a different racial or ethnic group, they lose anonymity. On every public outing they became a 'conspicuous family.
For adoptive parents, the transition to parenthood often occurs within a context of loss, mainly as a result of infertility.
Couples who face the failure of infertility treatments are involved in a painful and complicated emotional situation - infertility can result in low self-esteem, loss of social identity and changes in the couple's perception of their marriage.
However, if a couple can support each other through the loss of fertility, it is likely that they will be able to build a solid foundation with their adopted child.
Activity 1 - Understanding the impact of loss on adopted parents
In your learning journal, comment on the following questions:
- Infertility is one loss which you may have experienced. Are there any other losses which you have experienced, such as the death of a loved one? If so, how have you dealt with these losses?
- Are there any losses that you are currently dealing with? If so, do you feel that these losses could have a negative impact on your adopted child?
- If applicable, how has infertility affected you individually and as a couple?
- Last updated
- 19 October 2007