You’re Pregnancy May Be Unwanted by You, But to Someone Else, It Could Mean the World

Your pregnancy may be unwanted by you, but to someone else, it could mean the world. There is no telling what kind of difference your child will make in this world.

In 1957, a frightened 17-year-old who got pregnant after being beaten and raped by her boyfriend made an adoption plan. Eight months later, the baby was adopted by a factory worker and hairstylist outside of Pittsburgh, who later also adopted a nine-year-old from Italy. Twenty-eight years later, that same baby, Faith Daniels, joined CBS News as one of the youngest national news anchors in history. She told the Chicago Tribune that “I think adoption is the best thing that ever happened to me. A couple that is childless and that has worked very hard at having a child, then gone through the grueling process of adoption, then suddenly finds a baby or child on their doorstep, provides the most loving environment any child can enter. For them, it’s a miracle child that has come into their home. This is what they have prayed for; this is what they have cried for. It’s the end-all. I walked into a very loving environment where everything was put on hold when they had kids. Even though my mother worked, we came first. The family was blue-collar all the way. Mom worked; dad worked. They didn’t have a lot of money, just lots of love.”

In 1957, another Faith was born, this time to a 23-year-old woman who was not prepared to parent a child. Originally from Florida, the birth mother was residing temporarily in Mississippi, where a happy couple in their thirties were parenting two boys and had, just one week earlier,  reached out to a doctor friend to let them know they felt led to adopt a little girl. They asked him to contact them if they heard of a young woman looking to place a child. Forty years later, country music superstar Faith Hill reflected on the fated turn of events that led to her adoption. “I can’t imagine the choice to do that and how thankful I am that [the birth mother] was able to give me the opportunity that I had because I was placed into an incredible home that, I mean, basically is responsible for the way I am today and the backbone that I have in order to do this for a living…I actually had a pretty amazing childhood.”

These are just two of millions of stories of adoptions that were meant to be. Quotes such as “there are no unwanted children, just unfound families” may seem trite, but there are an estimated two million families waiting to adopt a child in the United States, which is thirty-six couples for every one child who is placed up for adoption. Women looking to place their children have an abundant choice of loving couples who are bursting with affection and resources to create beautiful childhoods and promising futures for them. It is often the families that have struggled to have a child that is the most appreciative when they do become parents, and they are ready to begin raising the next generation with astonishing amounts of love and care.

As you consider your options for the future, keep in mind the stories of incredible lives that would not have been possible without a birth mother’s selfless decision to make an adoption plan. Remember that most adoptions are open, and you will be able to witness your child’s progress and accomplishments in person if that is the type of adoption you choose. But most importantly, remember that your future, as well as your child’s, is an unwritten story, and adoption can fill its pages with rich and glorious triumphs.