What is the role of birth parents in international adoption?

Host: What is the role of birthparents in international adoption?

Sarah Mejac: In international adoption, it's a very different dynamic with birthparents and adoptive families, but there are some countries that do facilitate the meeting of the birthmother and the adoptive parents, which can be enormously helpful I think both to the adoptive parents and to the birthmother, because I just think it's enormously reassuring to see someone face-to-face that you are trusting with this amazing thing. That s child that will be with them forever and it obviously would be in your heart forever too. In many other countries, the birthparents in -- or especially birthmothers are in sort of a mother and infant home where they go during their pregnancy where they have a good medical care in many countries.

Not everyone has access to that medical care. So when they enter into a mother and infant home, they will get good medical services and good to live there until the time their child is born and they will be given the same types of counseling, but on a different scale. There won't be the same, they won't have the same input necessarily into selecting a family, but that they would also be given profiles of the family of who might be matched with; and I just think that in the countries where there is often an opportunity for the birthmother and the adoptive family to meet, that s something that not everyone thinks about, but it's also not in every country, but it is a really wonderful opportunity.