Help Available in Writing Dear Birthmother Letter

For families seeking to adopt through parental placement adoption, one of the most challenging aspects can be the writing of the Dear Birthmother Letter. This is the part of the adoptive family profile where the prospective adoptive parents seek to explain to a birth mother who they are and why they want to adopt.

Dick Weiss, a journalist with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, has established WeissWrite LLC, which offers coaching and editing services to students, business people and anyone with a story to tell. Mr. Weiss has developed a guide to writing the Dear Birth Mother letter, which may be found at his web site, http://www.weisswrite.com.

According to Mr. Weiss, an effective Dear Birth Mother letter must tell a story. The letter must also outline the resources that the family has to offer and address their parenting style and how they were raised. The letter must communicate values and paint a picture of the child's anticipated future. Mr. Weiss points out that the letter must show respect for the birth mother's choice, honor her courage and address her possible desire to remain in touch.