- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- iparenting adoption articles
- iparenting adoption q&a
- community & groups
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
From Our Sponsors
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
You're Not Alone
Addressing the Common Problem of Post Adoption Depression
By Kelly Burgess
After adopting a long-awaited child, Karen Foli and her husband, John Thompson, were shocked to discover that it was not always the joyous event that they had imagined. Their new daughter, adopted from India, had been raised for her first five months in an environment where she got little attention. As a result, her behaviors were challenging beyond what Foli had been prepared to face, and Foli felt rejected. Foli was so unhappy she began to wonder if there was something wrong with her. After all, she had wanted this child very badly and had dreamed of nothing else for months. How could she possibly be so depressed?
In an effort to put a name to what she was feeling, Foli began to do some research, which resulted in the book, The Post-Adoption Blues: Overcoming the Unforeseen Challenges of Adoption (Rodale Books, 2004), co-written by her husband, psychologist John R. Thompson. Theirs is the first widely published work on the subject of depression following adoption.
Harriet McCarthy, who did extensive research on the subject of post-adoption blues back in 1998 and was one of the first to research and write about it, says that depression after adoption is often because feelings of guilt are so strong in adoptive parents. "They may have been through infertility and years of waiting for a child, and now they've gotten what they wanted and feel they should be very happy and present a happy face to the world and to their families," she says. "Unfortunately, there are a lot of stresses associated with adoption, and it can lead to a lot of negative feelings."
Want to see more?
Comments
There are no comments for this article yet.Be the first to 
|
Post As:
|
||
| Enter your comment below: | ||
| Title | ||
| Comment Text | ||
| CAPTCHA | ||
| Please note that any comments submitted become the property of Disney Family / iParenting and can be edited and posted at our discrection. | ||