Creating a Family: Talk about Adoption, Foster & Kinship Care

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! What are the health, emotional, and developmental issues common to children adopted from abroad. What should parents and professionals consider before adopting internationally. Our guest expert is Dr. Dana Johnson, Professor of Pediatrics and one of the founders of the Adoption Medicine Clinic at the University of Minnesota. He is the parent of two birth daughters an...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Should you adopt a child who has been exposed prenatally to alcohol or drugs? What are the short and long term impact of drinking during pregnancy or use of methamphetamines, opioids, Methadone, Suboxone, marijuana, and tobacco (cigarettes or vaping)? We talk with Dr. Julia Bledsoe, a board certified pediatrician specializing in adoption and prenatal exposure. She is...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! What do you need to understand about openness in adoption when you are first considering adopting. What is it and what is it not. We talk with Lori Holden, author of The Open-Hearted Way to Open Adoption, blogger, and adoptive mom. Support the show Please leave us a rating or review.  This podcast is produced by www. CreatingaFamily.org . We are a national non-profit...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! What is the adoption experience for birth mothers and what do they think of some of the controversies in adoption, such as pre-birth matching, adoptive parents at the hospital, adoptive mother breastfeeding, etc. Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national adoption & foster care education and support nonprofit talks with a panel of...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Parents may assume that the transition from foster care to adoption will be smooth and welcome, but that is not always the case. What should parents expect and how can they help their child with this transition? Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national adoption & foster care education and support nonprofit talks with Jayne School...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Many people decide to adopt after they have been unsuccessful with infertility treatment. Infertility involves many losses and grief is a natural and common feeling, but it is important to come to terms with this grief before you adopt. We talk with Carole Lieber Wilkins, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist specializing in adoption, infertility, and third party...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Are you the right family to consider transracial adoption? How do you know if you could successfully raise a child of a different race? We talk with Dr. Gina Samuels, a Professor at University of Chicago, School of Social Service Administration, affiliated with the Center of Race, Politics, and Culture, and a long time researcher on transracial adoption, and an adult...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! What causes miscarriage and recurrent pregnancy loss. What is the best treatment and what are the controversies in the diagnosing and treating of miscarriage. We talked with Dr. Lora Shahine, RE and Director of the Recurrent Pregnancy Program at Pacific NW Fertility and clinical faculty at the University of Washington in Seattle, and author of the book "Not Brok...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! How do you adopt from foster care? What is the process, what is required, and how to begin? We talk with Kim Phagan-Hansel, managing editor of "The Chronicle of Social Change" and the editor of "Fostering Families Today." Kim is also the editor of two books, The Foster Parenting Toolbox and The Kinship Parenting Toolbox . Support the show Please l...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! How do nutrition and lifestyle impact Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome? What can patients do to improve their symptoms and fertility? We talk with Angela Grassi, MS in Nutrition and a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, and founder of The PCOS Nutrition Center where she provides evidence-based nutrition information and coaching to people with PCOS. She is the author of sev...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! How to talk with children about adoption at different ages and stages. Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national adoption & foster care education and support nonprofit talks with Mark Lacava, LCSW-R, the Executive Vice President of the Pre and Post Adoption Services Department at Spence-Chapin Services to Families and Children. Su...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! What are some of the stresses of infertility and how can patients and couples cope. Why is the grief of infertility unique? We talk with two therapists who specialize in reproductive medicine: Bette Galen and Joey Miller. Support the show Please leave us a rating or review.  This podcast is produced by www. CreatingaFamily.org . We are a national non-profit with the...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! What do you need to know if you are considering adopting a baby in the US? What is the process, how long does it take, how much does it cost, and what decisions do adoptive parents have to make? Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national adoption & foster care education and support nonprofit talks with Erin Patterson, Director of A...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! How does intravaginal culture compare to IUI and IVF and who should consider this new fertility treatment? Our guest is Dr. John Park, a board certified Reproductive Endocrinologist with Carolina Conceptions.    Support the show Please leave us a rating or review.  This podcast is produced by www. CreatingaFamily.org . We are a national non-profit with the mission to...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! What are adoptive scams and how can adoptive parents recognize them and protect themselves. What can adoptive parents do to make sure that they are also being upfront and honest with expectant parents. Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national adoption & foster care education and support nonprofit, interviews Deborah Phillips, CEO...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! How can we help our foster or adopted children heal from past trauma or loss. Our guest is Carol Lozier, a licensed clinical social worker with over thirty years experience counseling children, teens and adults in the issues of trauma, and adoption and foster care. Ms. Lozier has published four books, including one of my very favorites, The Adoptive and Foster Parent...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Open adoption may be good for adopted children but it can present challenging situations and relationship dynamics that can be hard for kids to understand. Some difficult situations that adoptive parents may have to navigate are birth parents showing up high to meetings, not honoring their promises, differing levels of openness between multiple adopted children, or t...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! What products that we use and foods that we eat might be harming our fertility or might impact a pregnancy. What should women who are trying to get pregnant or who are pregnant avoid and what should they do? We interview Dr. Tracey Woodruff, a Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California San Francisc...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! How to create a successful adoptive parent profile that will appeal to expectant moms making a decision on whether to place their baby for adoption? What to include and what to avoid? What type of pictures to include and how many? What do expectant women or couples want to see? Our guest expert is Madeleine Melcher, an adoptee, an adoptive mom, and the author of How...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Parenting adopted teens can be fun and challenging. What are some tips and tricks for parenting adopted teens and tweens? Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national adoption & foster care education and support nonprofit, interviews Katie Naftzger, LICSW, a psychotherapist that specializes in adoption and a transracial adoptee adopt...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! If your 1st IVF cycle failed, should you try again? What are your odds of success with subsequent IVF cycles? Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Philip Chenette, medical director at Pacific Fertility Center in San Francisco and past president of the Bay Area Reproducti...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! How does infertility and its treatment affect your sexual desire? What are the impacts of infertility and fertility treatment on sexual intimacy? Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Jody Madeira, a professor at Indiana University-Bloomington, an expert on law and medici...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! We talk with Kama Einhorn, one of the creators of Karli, the new Sesame Street Muppet who is in foster care, about how they decided on this storyline, how they created the muppet, cast the puppeteer, and what other resources are available on Sesame Street for foster children and foster parents. Support the show Please leave us a rating or review.  This podcast is pro...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Food issues are very common with adopted and foster children and are one of the most frequent concerns adoptive and foster parents have. We will address common food issues and provide practical suggestions for parents to implement to help their child. Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national adoption & foster care education and s...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! We know that attachment is crucial for adopted and foster kids for their mental and physical health. What are some fun and simple ways to help you and your child attach? Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national adoption & foster care education and support nonprofit, interviews Deborah Gray, adoption therapist, “attachment guru”,...