The intrauterine environment may be less than optimal for neurological development, since the birth mother may be quite young and, in trying to hide the pregnancy, may avoid or delay obtaining prenatal care. Poor nutrition, drugs and alcohol increase the risk of central nervous system damage. Biochemical alterations in the mother will filter down to the baby and can impact on its temperament. There, however, someone usually points out that the baby's personality is just like great-grandfather Jake. In the Jewish community, with its great emphasis on education, the problems posed by ADD may be compounded, Brodzinsky says.
Jewish families tend to be very concerned about and put great emphasis on education.
When a problem is suspected, Jewish families tend to investigate it fully and not give up until they find help for the child, says Shelley Sanders, an adoption counselor in private practice in Plymouth Meeting. This included the possibility that my child might not be academically oriented. I had this mind-set for parenting, so in a sense, I was already psychologically prepared for my son's problems. Adoptive parents who are completely unaware of the potential for this type of problem face stress beyond that normally involved in adoption, adoption experts say. Dealing with loss Adoption involves dealing with loss - of fertility, of dreams, of being able to produce a child that is biologically one's own.