How do I know I am making the right decision?

Making the decision to place your baby for adoption is a difficult one. It is a decision that takes great strength, deep inner reflection and the courage to trust in yourself.

Many women start down the path to adoption for many reasons. Some may choose adoption for religious or cultural reasons; others may choose adoption for deeply personal or financial reasons. However, all birth mothers have one basic thread in common - they are doing what they, deep in their hearts, feel is right for their baby.

Whatever your reason was for considering adoption, you - just like the others who have stood in your shoes - are moved to do what you think is in the best interest of your baby. Whether it is for financial or personal reasons, adoption is a way for you to provide your child with the life you are unable to give them at this time. However, that doesn't make the decision any easier.

"I wanted my son to have everything and more than I had growing up," said Michelle, a birth mother who placed her son for adoption. "I knew that I couldn't provide for him financially and he would not have a stable father figure in his life. Adoption would allow him to have more than I could provide for him."

Women who have spiritual or religious beliefs often look for higher signs that they are making the right decision. Other women find writing a letter to their unborn baby explaining their reasons for choosing adoption a helpful way to express their feelings to their child.

The truth is that only you will know if you are making the right decision. Your reasons, no matter how trivial they may seem to the outside world, are valid. After exploring all of your choices, there was a reason why adoption was in your heart. Perhaps it is for spiritual reasons, perhaps it is because you know deep inside that you cannot give your child the life you imagine for them. All are valid reasons.

Millions of women have stood in the same shoes your are standing in now, wondering if they are making the right decision. Listen to your heart - although it may be difficult to hear what it is saying, it will remind you what brought you to adoption.