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As someone who loves an adoptive family, there are a number of things you can do to provide meaningful support and encouragement.

Providence Place - A recognized leader in the San Antonio community. Our services are for adoptive families, birth mothers, deaf and disabled young adults. We also work with the community to support nonprofits. Contact us for more information about adoption or other programs.

Surrogacy is a path that many couples who are unable to have children of their own have chosen due to the intimacy and experiences involved in the process. There are many things that should be taken into consideration before you make the choice of becoming a surrogate mother. You should first speak with an attorney and/or an adoption agency specializing in surrogacy. They can provide you with a list of things to consider and agencies available to start you on your way, educate you on your rights as well as those of the adoptive couple and what you can expect and what is expected out of you. When you consider on becoming a surrogate mother, you also need to decide whether you will be an independent surrogate or agency surrogate. As an independent surrogate, you need to be responsible for your own arrangements, finding the right couple, working out a contract and, if anything goes awry with the arrangements, you will be responsible for finding another couple. As an agency surrogate, all of these arrangements and legalities are managed for you by your agent. Either route you choose, make sure that you have consulted an attorney who specializes in surrogacy and adoption to serve your best interests. The next step in becoming a surrogate involves the physical aspects or extent of the measures you are willing to take to become pregnant. You need to decide if you are willing to undergo artificial insemination, hormone therapy and/or in vitro fertilization. Each of these measures are time consuming and not fail proof, so it is always best to have an alternate plan, if possible, in case your first choice for conception does not work. Finally, once an agency or attorney is employed in your journey to becoming a surrogate mother, psychological and physical tests need to be done to make sure that you are healthy enough to carry a child to term and that there are not any past medical or family histories that may cause pregnancy or genetic issues. Extensive counseling will be

Adoption provides an opportunity for both birth mother and child to live a happy, healthy life. In many countries and in many states in the US, adoption is also an integral part of helping couples start families.

Surrogate pregnancy is a process in which another woman will carry a baby for nine months and then will relinquish the baby to the couple. This is meant for women or couples that are unable to have children for whatever reason, be it infertility, age, or medical problems. Another option is adoption, which is a legal process to create a new, permanent relationship between a child and an adult. A woman that decides to be a surrogate may be family, friends, or may be a complete stranger. Surrogate pregnancy can be arranged through agencies that help find the couple a woman who will be their surrogate mother for a fee. If the agency arranges for surrogacy, careful inspection is done to make sure the health of the surrogate is guaranteed to avoid possible pregnancy risks. Surrogacy may also be set up without the help of an agency. Surrogate pregnancy can be done in one of two ways. The first way is by artificial insemination, in which a sperm is injected into the surrogate mother's body. The surrogate is the baby's biological mother, but after the birth of the child, he/she is given to be raised by the biological father and his partner or spouse. This is known as traditional surrogacy. The second way is to have a woman's eggs (usually about five eggs) and a man's sperm injected into the surrogate mother. In this case, the surrogate is not the biological mother. This is known as gestational surrogacy. The fees paid for a surrogate pregnancy will be anywhere from ten-thousand to sixty-thousand dollars. The average price for a surrogate mother is anywhere from ten-thousand to thirty-thousand dollars, but other fees such as medical fees, egg donors (if one is used), lawyer fees, or fertility clinics can, of course, up the price. Gestational surrogacy tends to cost more than traditional surrogacy because more medical complications arise in pregnancy. Surrogate mothers that carry babies for members of their family may do it for expenses only, or may get no rewards

Pregnancies are not always the blessing some mothers dream of. For some, a pregnancy can come at a difficult time when raising a child might not be entirely feasible. Expectant mothers unsure of what to do can feel stressed, overwhelmed, and without much time.

At ACTION ADOPTION, since 1895, we have helped expectant mothers who want a better future for their babies than they can provide, and young people and families wanting to adopt and provide a loving family to a baby or child. Learn More

Though many professionals are recently adopting a more informal attire in the workplace, the males in The Daily Kool family are die-hard suit wearers. Sorry, President Obama...no business casual in the office for our men, especially Dad. He is meticulous about his appearance, even on the weekends...he wears a polo and dress pants to clean the pool, for goodness sake! Okay, we are the first to admit that his standards may be unreasonably high (and quite possibly, unnecessary)...but, the majority of men (and women) we know do like to look good. Unwrinkled, pressed pants are often high on their list of wardrobe priorities. After all, who wants to come to work looking like they've just rolled out of bed (even if they have)?

This Father's Day weekend, we can all help change the lives of children in foster care, simply by treating ourselves and Dad to a Frosty. Seriously, folks...what's the hardship in that? For every Frosty product sold on Saturday and Sunday, Wendy's will donate $.50 to this worthwhile organization. Last year, more than $1.7 million was raised for the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption during Wendy's Father's Day Frosty Weekend....let's do our part (albeit a small one) raise even more this year.