Adoptive Mom Forced To Return Baby After Birth Parents Change Their Minds

A woman in Virginia was forced to return her adopted daughter five days after she was picked up because the child's birth parents changed their minds.

Sarah Howell, of Richmond, and her husband, Chris, 32, had approached an adoption agency after the former was diagnosed in April 2017 with endometriosis, which gave her a less than 1% chance of conceiving naturally, 7News.com.au reported.

The couple was added to the three-year-long waiting list. In late January 2018, they were informed by a social worker that they had been matched with a baby girl, according to the outlet. The news came just an hour after Sarah learned that she was pregnant for the first time.

"I remember I asked myself a million times that day, 'how is this possible?" the registered nurse recalled.

Sarah and Chris picked up their adopted daughter on March 7, 2018, when she was eight weeks pregnant.

"When I walked into the hospital room her birth [mom] was holding her and lovingly placed her into my arms, she said ‘meet your [mom], baby girl," Sarah said. "We loved each other and really care for one another."

The couple, however, reportedly received a phone call five days later and was told the birth parents of their new daughter had changed their minds and wanted her back.

"I fell to the floor in despair. I kept saying over and over to my husband ‘you’re joking, this is a joke right?" said Sarah, who was feeding the baby girl when she received the call.

She was worried at the time that the pain would trigger a miscarriage. "I always say the pain we felt that day was worse than our three years of infertility combined," Sarah said.

Despite this, Sarah said she and her husband did not have anything against the child's birth parents. "If we could, we would tell them how much we love them, and how lucky [the] baby girl is to have them as parents," she said.

Sarah reportedly went into labor on Oct. 17, 2018, and gave birth to their son, Noah Howell.

When Noah was a year old, the Howells received another call from a social worker informing them they had been matched with a baby boy. They picked up the 1-day-old child from Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center and named him Levi.

Sarah and Chris decided to foster another baby boy in June, according to the report.

"It is what we prayed for so long after all," Sarah was quoted as saying.

"Three under three is certainly an adventure, and at times utter chaos... but the giggles, laughter and joy far outweigh anything else," the mother said.