In another answer someone wrote, "Birth mother do go through 9 months of hard time, but an adoptive mother usually goes through years of pain and suffering, sadness and depression due to the inability to conceive."
What purpose does this statement give? Is this a "who pain is worse" statement? Is it used to minimize a birthmother's loss? I suppose there are probably birthmothers out there that agree with this statement. Do you feel this statement reflects your story?
2007-12-15T16:45:39Z
Just to clarify to those reading the question that are unfamiliar with the term "birthmother." The word is being used in reference to the woman who relinquished her child for adoption. It is not in reference to just any woman who has given birth when used in the adoption category.
Anonymous2007-12-15T18:14:49Z
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Yeah, unfortunately, it sounds like someone trying to diminish another's pain and suffering.
I can't say that it reflects my story because I'm not infertile, to my knowledge. I did lose my son to adoption 23 years ago and I know the physical and emotional pain that I personally suffer from that experience. It is life-long. I knew that I would never choose to have another child after losing my son, so I guess I've lived with some self-imposed restrictions on ever having a family. It's sad not to have raised children, but I don't really think much about those "other"/fantasy children. I think about my son. Period. I should have been allowed to raise him.
The other part of this issue is that, from what I've read, the grief that comes with infertility doesn't magically disappear if someone decides to adopt because they can't conceive. I don't even know if the grief of not being able to conceive is something one can "cure". Furthermore, if there IS no way to resolve the grief, it creates the situation where our children who we lost to adoption enter households where the mother (and/or father) are grieving something personal that has nothing to do with the infant/child now in their care. However, it must certainly reflect upon the interactions of those adoptive parents and child.
I have read numerous accounts of adult adoptees who have grown up in households where the grief of infertility was never resolved. One of the several negative consequences is that the adoptee comes to feel like they are the band-aid solution to someone else's problem. I'm sure there are a host of other issues that come along as well, but an "infertility fix" is simply NOT what adoption is suppose to be about!
As far as the 9 months being a difficult time, it was difficult because I was scared, didn't know what the hell I was going to do and had to try to figure things out on my own. Then there were the last 2 months or so where I knew that I was going to be losing my child. That's what made my pregnancy much more difficult than any of the physical stuff. I didn't get to enjoy, the way I should have, my son growing inside of me.
Like the pain ENDS after nine months! That is a statement from a very self-centered, immature, and shallow woman. (And yes, it's a woman. I've never known a man to mock or minimize conception and childbirth).
It's like someone saying that they always wanted to get married, so their pain is the same or worse as a widow. Or someone who always wanted to buy a house, but never did, thinking their pain is as deep as a person who's home with all their belongings burned to the ground.
What's sickening about this, is this person with their childish, one-up-man-ship mentality is probably adopting a child, and 'suffering' all through that process, too.
Well since it only took me 32 weeks instead of the normal 40 then I guess I know even less about the pain of pregnancy. Wow I had no idea that it was so trivial to deal with morning sickness, heartburn, sciatica, hemorrhoids, stretch marks, engorgement, PPD, episiotomy, preterm labour, placenta previa, placental retention, possible spontaneous abortion, bleeding, having your membranes stripped, drinking 80 oz of water then having a radiologist pummel your stomach with a piece of plastic, internal exams on a bimonthly basis, blood work, drinking that vile orange goo before blood work, amniocentesis, swollen feet, having a head shoved into your lung, having your cervix punched and kicked, braxton hicks, your water breaking on you friends brand new couch, having your water broken only to find meconium staining, the great and wonderful "ring of fire", contraction, contractions, contractions... did I miss anything.
Yeah I get it, pregnancy and giving birth equals nothing. Just nurturing a life and bringing it into the world. So hey why not just give the kid away, not like you did anything worthwhile in having it right? Oh and forget about the pain, just live your life like all those things never happened. At least you were able to experience it. Don't all you "birth moms" feel better knowing you got to go through all that AND didn't have to raise it? No crying at three am to interrupt your promiscuous, drug addicted, alcoholic ways. Well apparently we all should.
I think it is to try and make it seem as if they have worse pain. Silly isn't it? Pain is pain.. and yes it is used to minimize a mothers loss of her child. This statement in no way reflects my story. My pain even 24 years later is huge, it is a gaping wound in my heart that will never go away. Not even with reunion does it ever go away.
Consider this: If I said- Adopters who are infertile want to make is seem ever so much worse to mourn what they don't have, they want to be sad about the money they spent in a futile effort to conceive and when they can't they choose adoption as a next best option. How about mouring what you could have, that has been stolen from you by lies and coercion and a society that does not support single mothers?
If I said that in any post I would be attacked like no tomorrow, and well it would be wrong to say it wouldn't it? Because how do I know that all infertiles are like that?
We all have pain, why cheapen it with statements like the above? Why try to minmize anyone elses pain? Aren't we all human? This is such a difficult subject, and personally I am sick of this sort of attitude. An infertiles pain can not be equated with my pain! I lost something tangible, they have lost a dream. Which do you think is worse? Hard choice isn't it?