The phone call they’ve been waiting for — a baby available for adoption — might sound like the end of a happily-ever-after tale, but it belies all the turmoil that came before. Still, parents who’ve managed to navigate the rigorous social services evaluations that often overlap with the disappointment of another failed treatment are finally reaping the rewards.
When Tova Landau’s* husband told one of their neighbors that they would be making a kiddush that Shabbos for their new baby, the neighbor was skeptical: I just saw his wife the other day, he thought to himself. She didn’t look like she was having a baby!
The neighbor was right, but it didn’t occur to him that that there could be another way to bring home a new baby.
For a significant — and growing — number of couples who struggle with infertility, adoption has become a promising and viable avenue for achieving their dream of having a family. Yet while this path may not involve nine months of physical preparation and the inconvenience of morning sickness, each successful adoption carries with it years of emotional and financial investment. And bringing home the baby is, of course, just the beginning of a new journey.
“We get several new calls a week from couples,” says Brany Rosen, director of A T.I.M.E., an international organization that provides wide-ranging support to couples suffering from infertility. “If you gave me 100 babies today, I could place them all in a second.”
Yet while the demand is there, the road to adoption is not easy, and often the first hurdle to overcome is the decision itself.
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