PSP Mother’s Day: Honouring Hazel Poa, mother of 2 adopted sons

Singapore — Celebrating Mother’s Day, the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) shares the story of Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) Hazel Poa, mother of two adopted children.

Ms Hazel Poa, who is also a member of the PSP central executive committee, has two adopted sons,  aged 14 and 15.

“I was then thirty-five or thirty-six. By then I had been married for about more than 10 years. We both wanted children, my husband and I. I tried artificial assistance as well, but my body reacted badly to it. So we started thinking about whether adoption is a good option for us,” she shared in a PSP Faceboook post on Sunday (May 9).

When she brought her first son home, she remembers bonding immediately with him. She also recalls feeling nervous, as her son would sleep on his belly, and she was afraid he would suffocate. Both she and her husband would wake up throughout the night to check on his breathing.

As her children grew up, Ms Poa was open about their adoption, and they had no problems about it. In fact, when her son discuss their future plans, they would share about having children, even telling her, “Oh, I can adopt also.”

Her mother, who was initially apprehensive about adoption, warmed up to the idea after a while, even saying, “It was no different, you know, between having biological and adopted children,” which made Ms Poa quite happy.

“I found myself doing a lot more than I ever imagined myself doing in this journey,” she said when asked about her experience with adoption.

She wants to let others know that “if you try it, I think you will be amazed at yourself”⁣.

“My name is Hazel Poa Koon Koon 潘群勤, and I celebrate with all mothers who have taken this courageous step.”

Denise Teh is an intern at The Independent SG. /TISG