As I read the article about treating severe depression with deep brain stimulation (DBS), I couldn’t help but wonder if it might offer hope for other disorders. Could it possibly help severe cases of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), too. Originally used to treat people with Parkinson’s disease, researchers found that 50 percent of those treated with DBS also showed a reduction in depression symptoms. Requiring a minimally invasive surgical procedure, deep brain stimulation is achieved by the placement... more

Foster parents rejoice when a new child is placed in their home. With Mother’s Day approaching, a woman might feel especially blessed to have a new child placed in her home. After all, that is why they went through weeks of training and mounds of paperwork. Many foster parents have an ultimate goal of adoption and hope that a child will be able to stay forever. Initially, when a child arrives as an emergency placement no one is sure which direction the case will take. Will the child go home or will parental rights be terminated allowing the child to be adopted. The arrival... more

I should probably start off this post by admitting that I'm not a fan of the concept of Birthmother's Day. But I'll save my disgruntled nature for tomorrow's post on the "cons" and save today for the positives that do exist in the day's existence.

First, some background. Birthmother's Day is celebrated the immediate Saturday before Mother's Day (meaning, the day before, not a week and a day before). Yes, that means that it is this coming Saturday. It was originally created in 1990 by a group of birth mothers in Seattle. It started as a day to celebrate... more

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. (James 2:26, NKJV)

My oldest has had a rough couple of days. He's going through a growth spurt and every time he has, in his whole short life, there have always been emotional and behavioral “signs” that accompany that physical growth.

I've mentioned previously that he's scared of having another seizure.... more

A new study is indicating that more than half of mothers are declining their doctors’ offers and the government’s guidelines to vaccinate their young daughters, those under 13 years, with Gardasil. The vaccine known as Gardasil offers protection for women against the human papillomavirus (HPV.) The FDA approved the Gardasil vaccine in 2006 for girls and women between the ages of 9 and 26. HPV is a sexually transmitted disease. It is the primary cause of cervical cancer. The U.S. Center for Disease... more

With about six weeks of school left, it has become apparent that my teenage daughter, Lyn, cannot possibly pass four of her fourth grade classes. She has special needs that include a learning disability, fetal alcohol, ADD, and verbal Apraxia. There cannot be any benefit to her education or her self-esteem to continue to fail for the rest of the school year. If she were in public school, instead of homeschooling, there wouldn’t be any choice. She would have to finish out the current school year before starting summer school. What a waste of time and energy. However,... more

All week here on the Birth/First Parent blog, I am going to be discussing Mother's Day issues. I will also be discussing the controversy behind Birthmother's Day as a separate day. I will try to keep a balanced look at all of the issues, presenting some of the negative issues as well as some positive stories. I will combine all of these things with some positive things that we, as birth mothers, can do for ourselves during what many find to be a trying emotional time.

But first? I'm going to talk about myself right now, this year.

I'm feeling ambivalent... more

Mother’s Day is a week from today. For most of us it will not be a good day. For those who don’t have children yet, it’s a reminder of that fact. For those of us with difficult children, it can be an awful day.

This will be my tenth Mother’s Day as Sammy’s mother and my second as Hannah’s mother. I was fortunate enough to have two Mother’s Days with Kory and one with Mackenzie. I have wonderful memories of the first one with Kory. He was so excited to have a mom and worked very hard to make the day great. He and Sammy each had $10 to spend on a... more

Here is the scenario. My mother is a foster parent to teenage girls. I talked her into fostering when my father died about 10 years ago to keep her busy and provide her with companionship. Obviously, since she only parents teenage girls, many are now adults. She told me this morning that an older sister, around 25, has given birth to a healthy baby girl about four hours from where we live. The father, a boyfriend, isn’t helping, nor is he interested in parenting. The mother of the baby told her sisters that she is thinking about placing the baby for adoption. My mother asked me... more

Following is a poem that Sammy wrote for me.

The Sound of Love

Some people say it differently Some people yell Some people scream Some people let out a whole bunch of steam Just to say I love you But my mom knows how She says it just right She always brings light to a dark room. Now I’m not scared of the boom that comes out when I get angry. My mom loves me & I love her.

By Sam I love (drawn with a heart) you mom.

I don’t know what prompted Sammy to... more