Exploring Adoption

Discussion Groups for Infertility

Many excellent Internet bulletin boards and chat rooms are available for those who are exploring their fertility treatment options or are seeking emotional support. Here are a couple of my favorites:

Fertile Thoughts: www.fertilethoughts.com
Hannah's Prayer: www.hannah.org

Other great resources for researching infertility:
Advanced Reproductive Care, Inc. (ARC): 888.990.2727, www.arcfertility.com
American Infertility Association: 888.917.3777, www.americaninfertility.org
American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM): 205.978.5000, www.asrm.org
The InterNational Council on Infertility Information Dissemination (INCIID - pronounced "inside"): 703.379.9178, www.inciid.org
RESOLVE (The National Infertility Association): 888.623.0744, www.resolve.org

How to Finance Fertility Treatment

An article I wrote, entitled, "Four Steps to Financing Fertility," was published at www.preconception.com.

The article explains how to budget for fertility treatment and why to seek a specialist early on. You'll learn about the importance of medical insurance to cover the costs of fertility treatment, and you'll get some tips for how to connect with others who can help you along your journey.

Here are some "bonus" tips for financing fertility that didn't make it into the published article:

• Comparison shop for pharmacies (including online pharmacies) that provide low-cost fertility medications. Visit www.sharedjourney.com/phar.html.
• Search the online classifieds for low-cost meds at www.FreeGarageSale.com/cls.htm. Ask whether local universities or research facilities are conducting clinical trials in which you may be eligible to participate.

Part 2 of the series: "Financing Adoption" -- is also available at preconception.com. An outline of that story and some additional financing tips is in my two January 15, 2005 blogs.

Decision Tree

RESOLVE (www.resolve.org), The National Infertility Association, recommends that people assess their fertility diagnosis and treatment options by creating a “decision tree.” I recommend the decision tree as a handy tool for those considering family building through birth or adoption.

A decision tree is essentially a flow chart. Here’s how to create one:
• Write your primary goal at the top left side a piece of paper and circle it.
• To the right of your primary goal, list options for how you can achieve the goal.
• Under each option, list its pros and cons.

For example, you might list your primary goal as, “To Create a Family.” Options for achieving that goal may include trying to get pregnant on your own, undergoing surgery, taking fertility medications, pursuing assisted reproductive technology (ART), or investigating adoption. For each of those options, you should brainstorm a detailed list of pros and cons.

If you’re brainstorming pros and cons about adoption, for instance, you might include:
Pros:
    1) No pregnancy risks
    2) Provide a loving home to a child

Cons:
    1) Expenses
    2) Fears about child’s genetic heritage

A decision tree is a helpful method to analyze what’s most important to you about family building. Writing down your options prevents you from overlooking important details and it gives you a sense of control over your family building decisions.

For more information about how to create a decision tree, read Resolving Infertility by the staff of RESOLVE.

U.S. Census Bureau publishes adoption statistics

I find adoption statistics fascinating. Here are a few released by the U.S. Census Bureau:

1.6 million children under age 18 were adopted, comprising 2.5 percent of all children under 18.

There are 90 adopted boys for every 100 adopted girls under 18.

16 percent of adopted children under 18 are black; 7 percent are Asian and 2 percent are American Indian and Alaska native.

13 percent of adopted children are foreign-born. Korea accounts for 24 percent of foreign-born adopted children.

In 2003, 21,616 immigrant visas were issued to orphans coming to the United States for adoption.

Adoptive parents tend to be older than those with biological children. Their median income is higher, more of them have at least a bachelor's degree and more of them own a home than their counterparts with biological children and stepchildren.

Access the complete data by clicking on the link, left.