Love, Loss, and Adoption as a Birth Mother with Janelle Basham (Part 1)

What does it really mean to choose adoption, and how does that decision stay with you for life? In Part 1 of this deeply honest conversation, Janelle Basham shares her story of becoming a birth mother at 17 and the love, loss, and courage behind making an adoption plan. With vulnerability and clarity, Janelle takes us back to the beginning, navigating pregnancy, racial tension, limited support, and the painful realization that love alone isn’t always enough to parent well.Janelle challenges the myths and stereotypes surrounding birth mothers and adoption, speaking openly about grief, identity, and the lifelong “hole in the heart” that placement can leave behind. As both a birth mother and a leader in adoption advocacy, she offers a perspective rooted in lived experience, one that reminds us adoption is not about being unwanted, but about sacrifice, responsibility, and doing the best you can with what you have.This is Part 1 of a powerful two-part series that lays the emotional foundation for understanding adoption with greater compassion, honesty, and care.What You’ll LearnWhat leads a birth mother to choose adoptionWhy love alone isn’t enough to parent a childHow parenting plans and adoption plans can exist togetherThe long-term grief birth mothers carry after placementWhy adoption is not about rejection or abandonmentHow harmful stereotypes about birth parents affect everyoneWhat it really means to live with loss, not “move on” from it👉 Join the Parenting Different newsletter here:https://www.parentingdifferent.com/freeSubscribe for more episodes on adoption, trauma, identity, and parenting with truth and care.