We had the awesome opportunity to interview three powerful voices from the adoption constellation, Hannah , President of AKA and Adoptee, Cynthia , Conference Chair and Board member and Birth/First/Natural Mother and Stacey, Board member and Adoptive Mother speak about the upcoming Adoption Knowledge Affiliates (AKA) Virtual Conference on November 6-7, 2026.

You must ‘ Be in the Room ‘ for this virtual conference. We talked about this two-day event headlining with Keynote Speaker Dr Abby Hasberry is a guest on Episode 133’ Truth about Trauma on BMRT Podcast.

Our conversation covered all realms of adoption issues about the trauma and grief of losses on all levels of discovery . As we always do , we pulled the covers off the secrets from many decades.

Come to Listen aearn.

Come to discuss from your perspective : what you wish would be different in 2026

Rasing Our Voices Conference will feature Authors , Influencers, Podcasters, and Researchers panels .

Join AKA for two days of learning, connection, and meaningful conversation at our virtual conference.

The conference will open with a keynote address by Dr. Abby Hasberry, followed by engaging panel discussions exploring topics that matter across the adoption constellation. Each panel will bring together experts in their field while intentionally representing multiple lived perspectives, including an adoptee, an adoptive/foster parent, and a birth/first parent.

All are welcome and invited to attend. Whether you are personally connected to adoption, work within the adoption community, or are an ally, you’ll gain valuable insights,

practical knowledge, and the opportunity to connect with others committed to understanding and supporting everyone affected by adoption.

Register for the AKA Raising our Voices Conference

at the link below .

https://adoptionknowledge.org/conference/

Abby is a transracial adoptee as a black adoptee adopted in 1971 by white parents. Her family was interested in adopting another Black child but that did not work out.

Her family were told by adoption agencies that a Black child would be the“Cheapest and Quickest “.

Abby started searching earnestly for her “truth” with her mother’s dementia,diagnosis.

Abby is also a Birth/First Mother and psychotherapist serving clients in the adoption constellation.

Abby spoke about the “ Real Truth” in Adoption dispels the Blank Slate ,Nurture over Nature that she heard in her family .

She speaks about her “ Dream Family” for her son placed in adoption.

The Truth Always Prevails and we need to Talk the Truth about the Trauma

Samantha was truly a joy to talk to about her Journey becoming a mother.

Samantha is in an open adoption and spoke so openly about the challenges of determining the best option for her son.

The voices of “ They “ seems to appear in many podcast episodes .

Our minds have many facets of living the life of a birth/first/natural mother .

Like many mothers, Samantha finds Mother’s Day especially emotionally charged.

We think about the ‘ little humans that we bring into this world.

Moms go through many journeys; all we ask is that “ They “ simply ‘ Take a Walk in Our Shoes “.

We are so proud of Samantha as she walks boldly through her journey .

We talked with Tara, a good friend and birth/first mother who shares her story of facing the dilemma of her teenage pregnancy and deciding her path .

Tara shared about her fear of telling her parents and her denial after the first pregnancy test. Tara found a friend and confidante who was there for her to give her encouragement and support .

In the 1990s, Mother-Baby homes were prevalent, and Tara found her voice to make her own decision.

Over the years, Tara described how she communicated with her son through their open adoption.

Tara and I shared about the imagined fear of the ‘ evil birth/first mother ‘ that “ Society ” feared would snatch their child from the adoptive families.

These emotions of leaving a ‘ piece of our heart ‘ with our children is “Real “,

Tara talked about disenfranchised fear and the ambiguous loss which many people ‘ outside’ of the adoption constellation simply don’t understand .

Tara is on her “ Path to Healing “

Kate shared her story after a period of soul searching and faith to gather the courage. I was so pleased to hear from her again after nearly 4 years . she was ready to share .

It takes a tremendous amount of courage to share our story of loss as a birth/first/natural mother .

The trauma is real and our body keeps the score even if we don’t .

Kate allowed her love for her son to overshadow any disappointment .

Kate occupies two spaces in the adoption constellation as an adoptee and a birth mom.

Listen to her share her story and the path towards Grace and Healing that she is on and encourages others to join her.

We celebrated BMRT 5th Anniversary at the 2026 National Council for Adoption Conference in Washington, Dc.

After 5 emotional, powerful impactful years talking to Birth/First/Natural Mothers sharing their stories has been a Healing Place of Grace. Some women have told ‘ their secret after 20, 30, 40, 50 years. Thank you for trusting me with your story .

We had the opportunity to meet fellow advocates for unsealing OBC , Rebecca in the Fight and Win in Virginia this year after many years. YES, Virginia is now pen effective July 1, 2026, for adult adoptees to receive their original birth certificate ( OBC) .

We talked about “ THEY” spoke for moms not wanting to have OBC because of the shame and forgetting about their child. We think of our children every day in one way or another just like parents who raised their children.

Rebecca talked about her journey as an adoptee and a birth/first/natural mother. She shares her unique perspective of navigating life and is now serving the adoption community as a social worker.

We talked about our experience at the NCFA and hearing comments that were somewhat disturbing at the same time knowing that our voices needed to be hard in these rooms

I spoke openly in a full ballroom that “ GOTCHA “ day celebration for adoptive family is “ LOSTYOU Day grief for first/birth/natural families .

There was an audible ‘GASP in the room . Maybe someone realized this truth for the first time . Let’s hope it did. .

Rebecca shared powerful words of “it is not the responsibility of birth/first/natural mother to heal the trauma of an adoptive family .

Adoption must ALWAYS be about the child..

The REAL Talk of this episode

“Everyone has to Do their Work to Heal “

This is a Special episode of BMRT . WE had a very candid conversation with birth/first/natural mothers, Dana, Jesse and Jori about their journey.

As I say , we are all in this together .

We also have on the podcast Drs. Ashley and Paulina , who are conducting a research study with birth/first/natural mothers to listen to US.

BMRT is in collaboration because our Voices have been silenced for so many years. This is our chance to openly candidly share our stories, our journeys of what we experienced then and now .

Our Voices of hurts and trauma have been silenced for too long. I created this platform , BMRT 5 years ago to give us a Voice . We offering you the opportunity though this research study for the world to ‘Hear US’ .

The First Families Project is a research study designed to hear the stories of families who have placed a child for adoption. In the first wave of this study, we are looking specifically at talking with birth mothers.

We want to listen to your life story to better understand what led to the placement, the placement process itself, and what life has looked like since.

I am asking all birth/first/natural mothers to participate in this research study .

Click the click below to share your story , you deserve to be heard.

As always , any mothers who wish to share on BMRT Podcast , reach out to be at dyrphoebe@gmail.com

Tell others , post this episode to your social media pages and birth/first/natural mother Facebook groups .

Don’t just talk among us , let’s talk to the world.

“They” will not understand our path unless we share.

To all who are willing to share, we are so grateful for the gift of your story. Please email us at first.families.project@gmail.com

Thank you Ladies, Love to All of You

Yvonne

Yvonne is H. O. T , Honest, Open, Transparent of the long advocacy fight on releasing from the vault , original birth certificate ( OBC) .

Our voices, Birth/First/Natural Mothers , need to be heard and not silenced .

Yvonne speaks about BMRT partnership with “ First Families Project “ by Dr. Paulina and Dr. Ashley on Life History Interviews with U. S. Birth Mothers.

Grief and trauma is pre-verbal for adoptees.

It is grief and trauma for mothers their entire life , the question is how mothers are dealing with Grief and Trauma .

We like to say – There is Grace in Healing , the mission of BMRT podcast , approaching 5 years in sharing the stories of birth. first. natural mothers .

BMRT is a platform for Grace and Healing

Mother’s Day is soon, what are you feeling ?

We will have a special episode on the emotions around Mother’s Day