A grandma-to-be e-mailed me this week, saying that her daughter will be placing her baby for adoption in an open adoption. She asks:

When we go to the hospital, I would like to give the adoptive mom a present for the baby from my husband and I. Do you have any suggestions?

She also says that she’d like to write her grandson a letter, and wonders whether that would be necessary, since it will be an open adoption.

I suggested some items grandma could give her grandson, based on the gifts our sons received from... more

When a woman places her child for adoption, others in her immediate family – particularly her parents – are directly impacted by her decision. Birth grandparents experience a sense of helplessness and grief in an adoption because their grandchild is being raised by parents they don’t know, and they may never get the chance to see their grandchild again.

Several Internet resources address issues specific to birth grandparents. Here are a few links, courtesy of the founders of BirthMom Buds:

“Birth Grandparents: What is Your Role?” – Discusses the rights grandparents... more