Creating a Family: Talk about Adoption, Foster & Kinship Care

Latest Episodes:

Panel of Kinship Caregivers: What's It Really Like Apr 16, 2021

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What's it like to have your world turned upside down when you become the parent to your grandchild, niece, or nephew? What are the hidden joys and challenges. In this podcast episode, we have a frank and open talk with a panel of kinship caregivers about their experience.
In this episode, we cover:

What has been one of the greatest joys you’ve experienced as a kinship caregiver?
What has been one of the greatest challenges you’ve had in raising your grandchild or niece or nephew?
How has your age played into your parenting experience with this child?
How has caring for your grandchild affects your friendships and activities?
How do you handle the dual roles of being a mom to your grandchild and a mom to your grandchild’s parent? How has kinship caregiving impacted your role as parent to your child?
Have you had to set boundaries with your child to protect your grandchild?
How have you handle if your grandchild’s parent has another child? Would you take that child in as well?
How have you learned about technology, screens, video gaming, etc. in order to parent a child of this younger generation?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:
· Weekly podcasts
· Weekly articles/blog posts
· Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.
Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Helping Parents & Kids Manage Phones, Internet, & Gaming Apr 09, 2021

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How old is too young for a phone? Is gaming harmful to our kids? How much technology is too much. We talk with Dr. Jay Berk, a licensed psychologist and an expert in working with children and families. He is the author of two books: “A Parent’s Quick Guide to Electronic Addiction” and “Codeswitching: Social Skills in the Screen-Age”.
In this episode, we cover:
Parents from time immemorial have worried about the impact of the “new technology” and this goes back to our great great great grandparents worrying about the influence of novels to parents of the 50’s worry about too much time on the phone, to parents of the 80s worrying about too much TV, and on to the present where we worry about screen time, texting, and gaming.

We parents are digital “immigrants” while our kids are digital natives. How does this dynamic present challenges?
How to keep up with what our kids are doing?
What are the general best practices for elementary aged kids using digital technology?
- What age should kids be given a phone?
- What are reasonable rules for phone use?
How do things change as our kids each around age 11 or 12 and on into their teen years
How important is the use of digital media to socialize for this generation?
When should parents worry?
- Is the child getting enough sleep?
- Are they eating well?
- Are they getting enough exercise?
- Are they doing well in school?
- Do they have real life friends?
- If so, they are probably just fine.
What are the signs that our kids may be too involved with digital technology or gaming
How much screen time is too much for tweens? For teens?
Do different types of technology have different risks and benefits? Internet? Gaming? Porn?
What are some reasonable rules for families to set in regards to technology, screen time, and gaming?
How to get buy-in from our tweens and teens?
App-tell kid
A challenge particular to families adopting or fostering older children or teens is that often our kids come to us with having had little supervision or rules about internet use? How can we establish healthy habits when the rules are new to them?

Resources:

A Parent’s Quick Guide to Electronic Addiction by Dr. Jay Berk
Center for Parent and Teen Communication: A Fact-Not-Fear Approach to Parenting In the Digital Age https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aNtRhYfA3k
Creating a Family’s Navigating the Internet with Adopted or Foster Tweens and Teens https://creatingafamily.org/adoption-category/adoption-blog/navigating-the-internet-with-adopted-or-foster-tweens-and-teens/
This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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Genetics and Fertility Apr 02, 2021

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Have you ever wondered if your struggle to conceive could be caused by your genes? Today we're going to answer that question and more about genetics and fertility by talking with two certified genetic counselors with CooperGenomics: Sharyn Lincoln and Sheila Johal.
In this episode, we cover:
Infertility is a disease affecting nearly 7% of all couples. It is a highly heterogeneous pathology with a complex etiology that includes both environmental and genetic factors. In this episode we will be focusing on the genetics.
What percentage of infertility can be attributed to our genes?
Genetics and Female Infertility
47,XXX (trisomy X; Triple X)
⁃ What is trisomy X?
⁃ How common is 47,XXX?
⁃ What are the symptoms of Triple X syndrome?
⁃ How common is infertility in women with Triple X?
⁃ Will the children conceived also have this chromosomal abnormality?
Turner syndrome (monosomy X)
⁃ What is Turner Syndrome?
⁃ How common is it?
⁃ What are the symptoms?
⁃ How common is mosaicism with this chromosomal defect?
⁃ How common is infertility in women with monosomy X?
⁃ Will the children conceived also have this chromosomal abnormality?
Single Gene Disorders
⁃ Fragile X (Primary Ovarian Failure)
⁃ Premutation
⁃ Galactosemia
⁃ Others
Polygenic, complex female infertility (environment & genetics)
⁃ Endometriosis
⁃ Is there a genetic link?
⁃ Fibroids
⁃ Is there a genetic link?
⁃ Hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell cancer (HLRCC)
⁃ Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
⁃ Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH)
⁃ Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (POI)
⁃ Is there a genetic link?
⁃ XXX syndrome
⁃ Fragile X syndrome
Genetics and Male Infertility
Klinefelter syndrome
⁃ What is Klinefelter syndrome, 47,XXY?
⁃ How common is Klinefelter syndrome?
⁃ What are the symptoms of Klinefelter syndrome other than infertility?
⁃ Is it possible for a man with Klinefelter syndrome to reproduce?
⁃ Will the children also have chromosomal abnormalities?
47,XYY syndrome
⁃ How common is XYY syndrome?
⁃ What are the symptoms of XYY syndrome other than infertility?
⁃ Will the children also have chromosomal abnormalities?
Structural chromosomal abnormalities (SCAs) include deletions, duplications,
translocations (balanced, imbalanced, and Robertsonian), and inversions.
⁃ Y chromosome micro deletions
Single Gene Disorders (Cystic Fibrosis)
Why has it been so hard to pinpoint the exact genes associated with male and female
fertility?

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Impact of Fostering on Kids Already in the Family Mar 26, 2021

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Bringing foster children into your family may impact the kids already in your home—both in positive and potentially negative ways. We will provide suggestions on how to integrate new foster children into your home as seamlessly as possible. Our guest expert is Dr. Eshele Williams, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, who brings her professional expertise with counseling foster families as well as her personal experience as being a biological child in a family that fostered many children in her childhood.
In this episode, we cover:

Positive benefits of fostering on children already in the family.
Possible challenging issues children in the family might face when foster children join the family.
Benefits of preparing children in the family for the realities of fostering.

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Attachment 101 Mar 19, 2021

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What do we mean by attachment and what can parents do to help their child attach. What can parents do if they are struggling with attaching to their child. We talk with Dr. Casey Call, the Assistant Director of Education at the Institute of Child Development at TCU. She is a researcher and trainer for Trust-Based Relational Intervention.
In this episode, we cover:

What is attachment and why is it so important to a child’s development?
How does attachment develop in children who are raised from infancy in a healthy functioning family? What does healthy attachment look like?
What events can interrupt the normal development of healthy attachment? (e.g. multiple caregivers, abuse, neglect) What about a primary care giver with mental illness? What about long term hospitalization?
When we have a child placed in our homes for either adoption or fostering, what are some signs that this child may have attachment issues?
Attachment issues fall along a spectrum from mild to severe. Describe typical behaviors that might appear along this spectrum.
Reactive Attachment Disorder
We have people contacting us with worries after only a few weeks in their home when the child and family are still adjusting to a total change in their lives. What is a reasonable time to give a child before parents begin to worry about major attachment issues?
What are some things parents of newly adopted or fostered kids can do to help their child attach?
What type of therapy is effective for children with attachment issues?
How can you find a therapist who will be knowledgeable on how to help a child and family that is struggling to attach?
How to discipline while still focusing on attachment.
The importance of parental attachment.
What interferes with a parents ability to attach to their child?
What are some things that a parent can do if they are struggling to attach to their child?
Post adoption depression.

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Impact of Prenatal Exposure to Opiates, Opioids, Methadone, Suboxone, and Other Common Drugs Mar 12, 2021

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What do adoptive and foster parents need to know about the impacts of prenatal exposure to opioids, Suboxone, and Methadone. What are the risks to a baby born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome or Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS)? We talk with Dr. Julian Davies, a pediatrician at the University of Washington’s Center for Adoption Medicine and their FASD and Prenatal Exposure Clinic.
In this episode, we cover:

What are opiates or opioids?
What are the most common opiates that are being used during pregnancy?
What are the most common non-opiate drugs that are being used by pregnant women?
What are the common treatment medication/drugs given to those struggling with addiction who are trying to get off opioids? Methadone, Suboxone, and Subutex
Are Methadone, Suboxone, and Subutex safe to use during pregnancy?
What are the short- and long-term impacts on infants exposed to opiates?
What are the short- and long-term impacts of infants exposed to Methadone in pregnancy?
What are the short- and long-term impacts of infants exposed to Suboxone in pregnancy?
Does the dosage of methadone or suboxone have an effect on the baby?
What are the short- and long-term impacts of infants exposed to methamphetamines (meth) in pregnancy?
What are the short- and long-term impacts of infants exposed to cocaine in pregnancy?
What are the short- and long-term impacts of infants exposed to marijuana in pregnancy? Edible vs. smoking vs. vaping
Does the timing of exposure in pregnancy affect the prognosis for the child? Is there a safer time for a fetus to be exposed to drugs in utero?
Many parents believe that if the child is not born dependent or with drugs in their system that the prognosis is better. Or conversely, if the child is born dependent and has to go through withdrawals that they will suffer more impact from the in-utero drug exposure. Is this true?
How serious is drug dependency and withdrawal for the infant?
How is withdrawal treated in the infant? How is Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) and Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS) treated in babies born dependent?
Families that adopt out of state are often concerned about how soon they can travel home with their baby if she has been born dependent and is going through withdrawal.
How long does withdrawal in an infant born dependent last?
If a baby tests positive for opiates is it possible to determine what drug the baby has been exposed to? Does the long-term prognosis matter depending on which drug?
How do you foster attachment while baby is suffering through withdrawal?
How common is it for women who use drugs during their pregnancy to also drink excessively during their pregnancy?
One thing you hear a lot is that “early intervention is key” and that a baby’s brain can be rewired during the first couple of years with the right therapy. What exactly does that therapy entail? Where can you find it? What strategies should you be using at home with your child with a diagnosis of prenatal drug exposure?
There are many similarities between drug exposure and trauma in how it affects children’s learning, behavior, etc. When a child has both of those challenges, is it possible to tell the difference on what is causing specific problems, and is the treatment different depending on the cause?
Are children who are exposed prenatally at a greater risk for drug abuse as teens and adults if they were adopted and not raised in an environment that exposed them to drug use?
What are the most common blood borne diseases that women who use drugs are exposed to are more likely to have.
What is the risk to a baby whose mother

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Coping with Pregnancy Loss and Miscarriage Mar 05, 2021

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Have you or someone you care about experienced a miscarriage or stillbirth? We talk about coping with pregnancy loss with Dr. Poonum Sharma, a Licensed Psychologist specializing in reproductive issues. She is a long term member of the Mental Health Provider Professional Group at the American Society of Reproductive Medicine.
In this episode, we cover:
Miscarriage and Stillbirth Statistics

Distinction between a miscarriage and stillbirth. A stillbirth is the death of a baby before or during delivery. Both miscarriage and stillbirth describe pregnancy loss, but they differ according to when the loss occurs. In the United States, a miscarriage is usually defined as loss of a baby before the 20th week of pregnancy, and a stillbirth is loss of a baby at 20 weeks of pregnancy and later.
About 1 pregnancy in 100 (1%) end in stillbirth, and each year about 24,000 babies are stillborn in the United States.
For women who know they’re pregnant, about 10 to 15 in 100 pregnancies (10 to 15 percent) end in miscarriage. As many as half of all pregnancies may end in miscarriage. We don’t know the exact number because a miscarriage may happen before a woman knows she’s pregnant.
Most miscarriages happen in the first trimester before the 12th week of pregnancy. Miscarriage in the second trimester (between 13 and 19 weeks) happens in 1 to 5 in 100 (1 to 5 percent) pregnancies.
The primary cause of first trimester miscarriage is chromosomal abnormalities.

The Grief Process

Factors that may impact grief:
- How long a woman or couple has been trying to get pregnant.
- Timing in the pregnancy of the loss.
- The number of miscarriages or pregnancy losses she has experienced.
- The cause of the miscarriage or lack of an explanation?
- Patient’s age.
- If she has existing children. Secondary infertility.
- The ability to talk about the loss to family and friends.
- Temperament of the patient and her partner.
Pregnancy loss before others know about the pregnancy.

Helping Patients Cope

How can those around the woman or couple support them during this time?
How to share the news.
How can nurses help patients cope?
What are the symptoms of compassion fatigue that infertility nurses should be aware of.
How can nurses prevent or cope with compassion fatigue.

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Adopting as a Single Parent Feb 26, 2021

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What issues should you consider if you want to adopt as a single person? We talk with Susan Fremer, a licensed mental health intern and a single mom of five adopted girls; and Lee Varon, a LICSW specializing in adoptive parenting, a single mom to two sons through adoption, and author of two books on single parent adoption.
In this episode, we cover:

Single parenting is common. Are there distinctions between becoming a single parent through divorce, conception, and adoption?
How easy is it to adopt as a single woman or single man?
Are there any additional requirements for single parents to be able to adopt? Any additional questions in the home study?
Legal issues. Importance of a will and naming a guardian.
What are some potential issues single parents should consider before they decide to adopt?
Is there another single parent or family that you could partner with to provide mutual child care support either full time or babysitting type arrangement?
Emotional support.
Consider moving closer to family.
Changes to your friend network after you become a parent.
Finances.
Costs for raising a child.
Look at your debt.
Will your housing have to change?
Child care.
May influence the age of child you decide to adopt.
Finding the opposite gender role model for your child.
Self-care.
Dating.
Are you ready to be a single parent?
Are you ready to give up the fun parts of being child-free, like the freedom to do what you want when you want? The freedom to tackle a new time consuming work project, educational degree, hobby, travel, etc.
Are you ready to feel the inevitable time crunch of single parenting?
Are you ready financially?
Annoying comments you may hear.
You haven’t given enough time to finding a partner.
Consider joining a single parent by choice support group. Online or in-person (check Meetup)
Resources:
1. Single Adoptive Parents: Our Stories (Book by Lee Varon and Sherry Fine)
2. Adopting On Your Own: The Complete Guide to Adoption for Single Parents (Book by Lee Varon)
3. Single Mothers By Choice (organization and website)
4. Motherhood Reimagined (organization and website)
5. ChoiceMom.org E-guide: Finding Support (eGuide)

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What Do Kinship Caregivers Need to Succeed? Feb 19, 2021

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Grandparents raising grandkids or aunts and uncles raising nephews and nieces is often complicated and comes with a mix of challenges and blessings. What are the unique issues that kinship caregivers face and what do they need to succeed. We talk about these issues with LaNette Jacobs, an aunt raising her two nephews; Marla Galvan, a licensed clinical social worker and Foster Care Strategic Consultant for Child Welfare Information Gateway; Dr. Ali Caliendo, the Executive Director of Foster Kinship, a nonprofit support of kinship families in Nevada; and Jaia Lent, the Deputy Executive Director at Generations United where she provides direction for the National Center on Grandfamilies.
In this episode, we covered:

Kinship care, also often called grandparent care or grandparent-led families, is used to care for children whose parents are unable. And while we will often use the term grandparent, we fully recognize that it is often aunts, uncles, cousins, and sometimes other siblings that are stepping up to care for these children. Kinship care can be permanent or temporary, financially subsidized or not, formal or informal. Kinship care at its best helps to maintain family connections and cultural traditions that can minimize the trauma of family separation.
Grandparents raising grandkids or aunts and uncles raising nephews and nieces is often complicated and comes with a mix of challenges and blessings.
There is often a blurred line between being a family member and assuming responsibility for a relative's children. Is your role the grandparent or the parent and if parent, to whom is your first allegiance—to your child or your grandchild.
It’s also a blessing. It’s a do over, a chance to be fully involved in a child’s life again and make a difference in the next generation.
Why is raising your grandkids different from raising your own kids the first time around?
Understanding emotions.
- Guilt, shame, anger, distrust, loss, loneliness, grief. And these feelings are often felt by both the parent and the kinship caregiver.
- Managing boundaries.
Communication
Being honest about your needs and the kids needs
Putting the children’s needs first.
How to help with reunification?
Try to show empathy towards the challenges that the parents are struggling with.
Don’t put down birth parents, especially in front of the kids.
Assure children that their parents love them.
Tell parents that you know that they love their child.
Don’t put the children in the middle.
Make visits a conflict free zone—if possible.
Have adult conversations on working out disagreements away from the kids.
Support change in the parents.
Support groups.
Not financially prepared for the addition of kids.
Parenting kids who’ve experienced trauma.
Legal resources to be in the best position to advocate for the child.

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Fertility Preservation and Egg Freezing Feb 12, 2021

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Should you consider freezing your eggs? What is involved and how much does it cost. We talk with Dr. Taraneh Nazem, Board-Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist with Reproductive Medicine Associates of NY.
In this episode, we cover:
Female Fertility

Overview of female fertility.
What impacts fecundity?
How important is age in female fertility?
Why does age negatively impact fertility in women?
What other factors decrease a woman’s fertility?

Fertility Preservation

At what age does fertility begin to decrease?
What causes Diminished Ovarian Reserves?
What are the symptoms of Diminished Ovarian Reserves?
How to evaluate and diagnosis Diminished Ovarian Reserves?
What can women do to support their fertility and maintain optimum fertility for as long as possible?
Does birth control influence future fertility positively or negatively?
Does exercise impact female fertility?

Egg Freezing

Who should consider egg freezing?
At what age should women consider freezing their eggs?
What is the egg freezing process?
What are the short and long-term risks of the fertility medication needed for egg freezing?
Do you need to have your IUD removed in order to go through an egg retrieval process?
How many eggs do you need to freeze to provide a fair chance of having a baby?
Are women with low AMH levels a good candidate for egg freezing?
How many egg retrieval cycles should you expect in order to have enough eggs for a strong chance for a baby?
How long can eggs be frozen?
Does freezing damage the eggs?
If you don’t use your frozen eggs can you donate them?
What is the success rate for frozen eggs?
Should you freeze eggs or freeze embryos?
Cost of egg freezing:
- Initial egg retrieval.
- Cryopreservation storage fee.
What is the process when you want to return to use your frozen eggs?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen families. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:
· Weekly podcasts
· Weekly articles/blog posts
· Resource pages on all aspects of family building
Creating a Family also has an active presence on many social media platforms. Please like or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.

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