Megan Chose Adoption For Her Son

My name is Megan. I was 15 years old when I became pregnant and placed my son for adoption. It was an overwhelming feeling because you’ve got to figure out what you’re going to do. You’ve got this little life depending on you. Adoption was one thing that my parents really wanted us to look into and I really respect my parents’ opinions on things so I definitely looked into it. After talking to my counselor, I felt like I had more power back in my life. When he talked about the decision to place and all the different things, it was never a done deal. It was always “if you decide to place, what kind of parents would you like,” or “if you choose this, here are your options.” It felt like it gave me back power. When I found out I was pregnant, I felt like the floor had dropped from beneath me. I didn’t know what to do, or what was going to happen. It was very unknown and very scary.

On selecting the family

One family stuck out in particular, it was the way they spoke in their letters to me. It was never ‘the baby’ or ‘the child.’ It was always ‘our baby, our child.’ I was still going to be a part of his life and that was something I really wanted. That was something that really spoke to me. Then I actually met them when I was about seven months pregnant. We had a match meeting here at the The Cradle. We found out that not only are they Irish Catholic like my family, but they also come from similar, if not the same counties in Ireland their family comes from that my family comes from. They have a large extended family as well.

On when her son was born

I was in the hospital for two days. He was with me both days. Then he actually came to The Cradle’s nursery. He was here for about a week. I’d visit him every day that I could. Then on the Monday after I had him, my whole family came here and we had a whole big family meeting. I had a lot of younger siblings and I’m the oldest, so none of them could come see me in the hospital. I wanted them to have a chance to say their goodbyes and they wanted to hold him and have their moment with him.

How do you talk about adoption now?

It’s definitely something that I try to inform people about when it does come up. Most of my friends and family know. It’s not something that I hid, if they have any questions. I end up being the person that they go to when they find out they’re pregnant. I’ve always said if you want to e-mail me, Facebook me, call me, feel free. I don’t mind answering questions and telling you how it really is because a lot of people don’t know how it really is.

How did you know adoption was right for you?

I know I did what was right. I know I did the best I could at the time with the resources I had. I didn’t have a job, I didn’t have any health insurance. I was 15 years old, still living with my parents, still in high school. I’ve accomplished so much since then. Even with that, I know that I wouldn’t have been able to give him the life that he deserved to have. It was the best for not only myself, but for him, and for his biological parents, for my parents and for his adoptive parents. It was the best decision around for everybody. Everybody wins.