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Mental Health Concerns in Birth Mothers After Adoption

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Choosing to give up your baby for adoption may have been one of the best decisions you ever made, but that does not mean that it comes free of consequences. Giving up a baby for adoption can have lifelong effects on your mental health, which is why the adoption agency may have told you to seek mental health counseling. Counseling services cannot replace the great sorrow you have from giving up your baby, but they can help you deal with some of the common feelings women experience after this happens.

Questions About Decision

One common thought birth mothers have after giving up their babies is whether they made the right decision. When a woman carries a child for nine months and then hands the baby to its new family, there is often a great deal of pain caused by this physical separation. Even if you had spent a thorough amount of time choosing a family for the baby, you may still wonder if this was the right decision.

A mental health counselor can assist you through these thoughts by helping you understand the positive aspects of your decision. If you can focus on these aspects, it may help you find a way to get over the guilt, shame, and uncertainty you are feeling.

Feelings Of Grief

Not only may you wonder about this decision, but you may also be dealing with extreme sadness from this loss. Grief is what people feel after losing someone or something very important to them in life, and you might be struggling through the feelings of grief at this time.

Grieving is a normal part of a major loss in life, but you may not understand how to handle this process correctly. A counselor can help you with this too, by talking with you about the way you feel, and by letting you know that grieving is very normal and expected after an adoption occurs.

Uncertainty About What To Tell People

In addition, you might also have fears and anxiety about your future, what you will tell people, and how you will handle this issue years down the road. For example, you may wonder if you should tell the man you eventually marry about this. You may also wonder if you should tell the children you have in the future that you gave a baby up for adoption.

Mental health counseling can help you address these common issues, fears, and concerns and much more. If you are struggling to get over this issue, you should consider making an appointment with a mental health counselor soon to get the help you need. 

For more information, contact a practice like the Lincoln Psychiatric Group.


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