Your Complete Guide to Anonymous Adoption
One of the most difficult parts of the adoption process can be talking about your decision with other people in your life. As a result, you may be curious about how you can keep your adoption confidential. That is entirely possible, and your trusted adoption professional can help you do this.
Remember, if you would like to get free adoption information now, you can fill out our online contact form at any time. Still, we have created this in-depth article that provides plenty of detailed information on your privacy and your adoption decision. Below, you can learn all that you need to know about anonymous adoption agencies.
What Is an Anonymous Adoption Agency?
Anonymous adoption agencies are types of agencies that do a confidential adoption if you wish. It’s worth mentioning that all adoption agencies can be anonymous. This is because any information you share with your adoption professional is confidential, so they can’t share it with anyone without your consent.
It is always up to the prospective birth mother to decide what information they want to share with the adoptive family and with the people in their life about their adoption decision. In other words, you are in 100% control of your adoption journey from start to finish, and it can be as confidential as you prefer it to be. A secret adoption is entirely possible.
Also, you may have a particular interest in a closed adoption. This is when the birth mother doesn’t share any identifying or contact information with the adoptive family. The adoption professional mediates all contact between the two parties, and it ensures complete privacy. But, you may not have heard much about open adoption.
Open adoptions are the standard for adoptions today, and it ensures that you’ll stay in touch with your child and the adoptive family long after placement occurs. This isn’t a confidential adoption, but research has shown that open adoption tends to have healthier outcomes for everyone involved. Still, closed adoption is available to you if you’d rather pursue this path.
Who Works with Agencies That Do a Confidential Adoption?
Worrying about what your friends and family will think about your adoption decision is a common fear to have. It’s what leads some prospective birth mothers to become interested in keeping adoption a secret. But, you should know that there are both pros and cons to having a secret adoption. To help you make the most informed choice possible, we’ll go into more detail about those pros and cons below:
Pros of Working with Anonymous Adoption Agencies
You might feel that a confidential adoption is a necessity for you. You’re afraid of what could happen when certain people in your life find out about your adoption decision. If this case applies to you, then we’ve listed some of the benefits of working with an anonymous adoption agency:
- You can avoid conflict with unsupportive loved ones. One of the reasons that you may be interested in keeping adoption a secret is because you’re scared of creating conflict. When you pursue a closed adoption, this means that you might be able to avoid that conflict with any unsupportive friends or family members.
- You can stay safe from potential abuse or toxic behaviors. In some cases, you might be at risk of the birth father’s or other people’s toxicity or abusive tendencies. If this applies to you, then the safest option for you and your baby could be a closed or confidential adoption.
- You can avoid pressure from others to make a different decision. You might be concerned that, when you tell your loved ones that you’re pursuing adoption, they may try to sway your decision toward parenting or abortion. If you are 100% sure that adoption is right for you, then a secret adoption may be in order.
Cons of Working with Anonymous Adoption Agencies
Although there are some benefits of working with an anonymous adoption agency, there are also some drawbacks. The vast majority of adoptions today are open, and most adoption agencies encourage people to tell at least a handful of people about their decision. To help you make the most informed choice possible, here are some of the cons of working with anonymous adoption agencies:
- You might be required to tell the birth father. Depending on what state you live in, your local laws may require you to tell the baby’s father about the pregnancy. Keeping adoption a secret could make this process more complicated as a result.
- You may face more difficulties if you’re living with family. If you live with any family members or friends, then a secret adoption can be much more difficult to maintain. On top of this, you won’t be able to lean on them for emotional support during this challenging time. It’s common for birth mothers to experience complex emotions of adoption, such as grief and loss, and this support can be a godsend.
- You won’t get to watch your child grow up. One of the greatest benefits of open adoption is that you can watch your child grow up happy and healthy with a loving family of your selection. On the other hand, a confidential adoption means that you’ll have to accept the idea that you might not see your child again.
- You won’t be able to provide life-saving medical information to the adoptive family. In a closed adoption, no identifying or contact information is exchanged between you and the adoptive parents. This means that, if you need to send over potentially life-saving medical information about your baby, you won’t be able to do so.
- You might not have the privacy that you think you do. In the age of the internet and social media, complete privacy is becoming even more of a myth day by day. Even if you want to have a secret adoption, the widespread use of the internet doesn’t mean that your contact information will remain confidential.
This can be a lot to wrap your head around at once. If you have any more questions about anonymous adoption agencies, then you can contact us online to get more adoption information now. We would be more than happy to help you whenever you need us.