Creating a Family: Talk about Infertility and Adoption

Waiting times for domestic adoption is often dependent on how open adoptive parents are to health and legal “risk factors”. Common risk factors include prenatal exposures, familial history of mental illness or depression, incest, and unknown birth father. We will talk about how adoptive parents can evaluate the common risk factors and know whether to accept this birth mother match. Join our guests Dr. Meg Hayes, an adoption medicine specialist with Adoption Health Services at Oregon Health & Science University and Denise Hoppenhauer, Adoption Case Manager with Beacon House Adoption Services, President of the SC Adoption Coalition for Education and Support, and author of Adopting A Toddler.

How in the world do you choose a country to adopt from in international adoption. We will present a systematic step by step process for choosing a country for international adoption. Our guest is Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, a nonprofit providing education and support for adoption and infertility, and author of The Complete Book of International Adoption.

Join our guest Beth Heller, a yoga teacher, a nutritionist, Co-Founder of Pulling Down the Moon Integrative Care for Fertility, and Co-Author of the book Fully Fertile to discuss of to use healing techniques like yoga, nutrition, acupuncture and community support to enhance fertility treatment.

What can you do everyday to increase your chances of getting pregnant? Join our guest, Dr. Alan Copperman, Director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Vice-Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Science at Mount Sinai Medical Center, and Co-Medical Director of Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York.

How do we raise our kids to be resilient and self disciplined? Join our guest Dr. Robert Brooks, Psychology Professor at Harvard and author of Raising Resilient Children and Raising a Self-Disciplined Child. He is so practical and wise. I love his books.

Adoptive parents are told that they must incorporate their child's birth culture into thier life in order to raise healthy adopted children. Can you go overboard? Join our guests Mei-Ling Hopgood, adopted from Taiwan as an infant, and author of the book Lucky Girl. Joy Lieberthal was adopted from Korean at 5, and is a social worker and therapist in private practice in New York City.

The Federal Adoption Tax Credit provides a huge financial benefit for adoptive parents, but taking full advantage of this tax credit can be confusing. Join our guest, financial adviser, Ms. Nicole Albrecht who has years of experience advising clients about the adoption tax credit.

It is often so hard to know what to say and do when you are infertile or someone you love is infertile. Join our guest Dr. Janet Jaffe, a clinical psychologist in private practice in San Diego, CA. She is the co-founder of the Center for Reproductive Psychology, and co-author of two books: Unsung Lullabies: Understanding and Coping with Infertility and Reproductive Trauma: Psychotherapy with Infertility and Pregnancy Loss Clients.

For many people with infertility, Thanksgiving and Christmas are the hardest times of the year. To learn coping strategies for surviving the holidays without a child, join our guest Dr. Connie Shapiro, a professor at the University of Illinois, and author of “When You’re Not Expecting,” recently released by John Wiley Publishers.

Attachment is vital to emotional development. What can adoptive parents do to build the bonds of attachment with their adopted children? Join guest Dr. Dan Hughes, a clinical psychologist specializing in the treatment of children with attachment issues. He is the author of five books including Building the Bonds of Attachment and Attachment-Focused Parenting.

Join our guest Greg Wolfe, author of How to Make Love to a Plastic Cup: A Guy’s Guide to the World of Infertility, for a humorous yet realistic look at male infertility and fertility treatment in all its embarrassing glory.

The numbers of international adoptions from Ethiopia are expanding rapidly. What is the current status and what will happen in the future. Join our guests Melissa Fay Greene, Ethiopian adoptive mom and author of the book There is No Me Without You, a wonderful book about Ethiopian orphans and adoption; Sarah Mraz, Director of International Programs for Wide Horizons For Children; and Merrily Ripley is founder and director of Adoption Advocates International.

How can you increase the odds of getting pregnant if you are having trouble without having to use in vitro fertilization? We'll be talking about talk about Clomid, inter uterine insemination (artificial insemination), timing of intercourse, and other relatively low tech approaches to getting pregnant. Join our guest Dr. Lawrence Werlin, a reproductive endocrinologist with the Coastal Fertility Medical Center, in Orange County California.

International adoptive parents are encouraged to take their children back to their birth country for a visit one day. What is the reality of homeland tours for the children and their families? Is it always a good idea? How can parents prepare their children? Join our guests Dr. Iris Ponte, child development specialist and Debra Jacobs. Both are adoptive moms and authors of From Home to Homeland.

PCOS affects millions and is little understood. Our guest to talk about the latest advancements in diagnosis and treatment options for PCOS is Dr. Alison C. Peck, a Reproductive Endocrinologist specializing in the treatment of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome with the Fertility Institutes Endocrine Disorders Division.