If you were to ask me what this would look like and feel like a decade since the very beginning of this journey I wouldn’t even be able to put words to it. I would say a lot of hopeful things like, “I hope he still wants to know me and let me be a […] The post Emily’s Story: Part 2 appeared first on Shared Beginnings ..read more

My journey began when I was fifteen years old and I found out I was pregnant. I was scared and I could not even begin to conceptualize the weight of this life change. Early in my pregnancy I had a very raw conversation with a friend’s mom, and she suggested adoption to be the best […] The post Emily’s Story: Part 1 appeared first on Shared Beginnings ..read more

My Adoption Story May is one of the HARDEST months for a birth mom.   As Mother’s Day approaches, we want to shed light on the unique experiences & dynamic emotions Birth Mothers often face this time of year. To do this, we asked NWA birth mother, Marci, to share a few things about her personal experiences and emotions surrounding the month of May.   Please take a moment to hear her heart and consider how you can support any birth mothers in your life this month.    “Historically, Mother’s Day was a harder day for me than any other – even harder than my d ..read more

My Adoption Story I was born on June 26 and 3 days later I was placed into the foster care system. A few days later an adoptive family was informed, and they decided to name me “Kacie Rian”. A few weeks passed and I was placed in the arms of my loving parents. My parent were a mid-30’s couple who had already adopted a little boy from Seoul, South Korea. They had been told that couldn’t have kids of their own which launched their adoption journey to complete their family. My mother, an outgoing homemaker who was all about getting ish done was the backbone of the family. There wasn’t an ..read more

        My name is Meagan, and I am a birth mom. In 2010, in my second year of college, I discovered that I was pregnant. I was a teen and in a very new, long-distance relationship. To say I was devastated and confused was an understatement. I was not ready or prepared to raise a child. My boyfriend was in college working hard on his degree too. I felt scared and unprepared. I went to a clinic to hopefully get more information. The women that helped me that day were so incredibly caring and sweet. They confirmed my pregnancy, talked with me, and answered ..read more

Education can be life-changing. Good education isn’t just the sharing of information. It has the power to expand our perspectives, clarify our intentions, build and model empathy, and give us the wisdom to know how to heal, help, and encourage. This has been an area of growth for us over the past few months. As you may know, we are the expectant mom/family’s team. That is our job. But part of being good mom-advocates and child-advocates means ensuring the prospective adoptive parents who each client has asked to walk alongside her are well-equipped to support her and her child long-term. While ..read more

A Story of Broken Promises and Misplaced Trust Lakwe or Hello I was born and raised on an island in the Marshall Islands called “High-lang-lab-lab,” where everybody knows everybody. I am a birth mother and this is my story.  When I first found out that I was pregnant with my first born, I was still in college and I was not shocked at all. Obviously, I was happy! I really thought I could handle every bit of it but I was wrong. A few years later I gave birth to my second born: a little girl. I had a lot of struggles raising my two children. Not long after my daughter was born, I considered ..read more

  My name is Chanté Dent, and I love life. I love that in life, regardless of what comes my way, I can change my perspective and continue making it a joyous experience. My husband and I have two children. We live in the beautiful state of Georgia, and I love nature – it is my healing place. I am originally from California, which explains why, at times, I feel deprived in Georgia because beaches are not nearby as they were in California. I am a birth mom who has learned so much about myself over the past few years. I am stronger than I thought, and life is a precious gift from Go ..read more

Adoption is many things. While it is often times portrayed as rainbows and unicorns, those that have lived through the experience of placing, being adopted, or even adopting, know otherwise. Adoption is often beautiful, yes. It is also messy, challenging, complicated, and full of all kinds of emotions. And when an unethical agency or lawyer is involved, adoption can be brutal. As a birth mom first organization, we value the voices of birth moms and adoptees. We will share the beautiful, joyful stories and the heartbreaking, hurt-filled ones. What we do not want to do is censor the voices we va ..read more

Shared Beginnings started in early 2019 out of a desire to see expectant/birth moms treated with dignity and respect and given a voice throughout the adoption process. It is no surprise that our system is broken in many ways and that more needs to be done to protect the vulnerable and the oppressed. One of the ways we have seen this brokenness firsthand is in the world of adoption. Whether it’s expectant moms being promised a new way of life and lump sums of money like this or just adoption professionals not following through with postpartum care and lifelong counseling, we are witnessing the ..read more