Every time an adoptee goes to a doctor appointment or other medical appointment, the words you dread hearing are “What is your family history?” This lack of medical information is also carried to the adoptee’s children. There comes a point that adoptees and their family do wish they knew more medical facts about their birth families, maybe it is because they discover that he or she are facing a major illness. Having a child born with birth defects can lead to someone wanting to know more about his or her past and birth family.

I know an adoptee that was not bothered by not having any medical information about her birth family. When her daughter became very ill and was faced with some major medical conditions, her feelings started to change. The doctors said, “It would be very helpful if you could get some family medical history if possible.” This adoptee started her journey to find out medical information for herself and her daughter.

Not knowing your basic medical history can cause problems and unwelcome feelings for adoptees to deal with. Should an adoptee face a medical emergency without his or her medical history or should all adopted children have their family medical history? It should not be too much for an agency to provide an adopted child with detailed birth family medical history. It would be valuable information to know that two young female relative had breast cancer or that is a hereditary birth defect that runs in the family for the adoptee to know.

I have adopted children in the last few years and also was not giving any detailed medical concerning their birth families. I find it disturbing that in this day and time that adoptive parents and adopted children are not provided with a medical history. Every person deserves to make medical decisions for him or herself or their children with all the facts to receive the best medical outcome.

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