Questions About Raising a Non-Biologically Related Child

What is it like to raise a child who isn’t biologically yours? For couples who have spent years trying to have a child of their own and are now facing the prospect of adoption (either through traditional methods or embryo adoption), they may find themselves wondering if raising a non-biologically related child will be different.  Many couples will need to take time to grieve their opportunity to have a biological child before they will feel ready to adopt. For some people, they may always feel a difference. An article from The Guardian explores how some women feel about their adopted children, particularly when they are raising both bio and non-bio children.

One woman in the article said she thought bonding played an important role in her feelings towards her children, and the lack of bonding time with her adopted child hurt their relationship initially. “You don’t have nine months to prepare, you don’t go through the birth and you don’t breastfeed,” she said. These stages are crucial times of bonding with your baby, and traditional adoption won’t allow you to experience them, but embryo adoption will. For couples who are concerned about their feelings regarding raising an adopted child, the embryo adoption option can offer some reassurance that they will get the same bonding time and experiences with their adopted child as any biological child they had created.

Of course, the differences between raising a biological child and an adopted child don’t stop there. EmbryoAdoption.org will be hosting a webinar concerning this issue in May of 2016 called “Comparison of Adoption with Donor Conception Issues.” In this webinar, we’ll talk about what it’s like to raise a child who isn’t biologically connected to you. You can register for this webinar online through the website, where you’ll also find resources for parents and stories from other adoptive parents and their experiences raising an adopted child.

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