We all know that we celebrate our mothers for everything they do for us throughout our lives on the first Sunday in May, but did you know there is a Birth Mother’s Day as well?  Birth Mother’s Day is a day to honor and remember the motherhood experience of birth mothers, the women who either lost or placed their children in adoption.  It is held on the Saturday before Mother’s Day.

Mother’s Day brings a birth mother’s feelings and memories of her child to the forefront and the pain and longing that might be associated with it.  Many have no contact with the child that was given up or taken from them, and no way of resolving their pain.  Birth Mother’s Day  was developed by a group of birth mothers in Seattle, Washington, who met at a birth parent support group.  It was created to educate people about adoption, but more importantly, to honor and remember.  The first Birth Mother’s Day was held in 1990.  As it turns out, Mother’s Day is one of the worst days of the year for these mothers, second only to the child’s’ birth date.

In recent years, with the expansion of Open Adoptions, where the birth and adoptive parents have a mutual agreement for interaction between the birth and adoptive families and the child, some of the pain, longing, but mostly the uncertainty of “not knowing” has been lessened.  However, even with open adoption, many birth mothers still feel a sense of loss for not being able to truly parent their child.

Catholic Charities’ Life Connections program deals with these issues everyday through our adoption and counseling programs.  Certainly, Open Adoption helps by not severing the relationship between birth mom and child, and counseling helps resolve some of the issues surrounding adoption, but celebrating the birth mom for more than just “giving live” has helped many come to terms with their roles and feelings.

If you would like more information regarding Catholic Charities Life Connections programs, click here.

There is also a great website that has an in-depth article on Birth Mother’s Day.  To read more, click here.