Considering adoption can be a difficult decision for any prospective birth mother, but you do have the power to do what’s best for your life.
Yes, it’s true you have many adoption options to choose from, which is why we’ve taken the time to break down each one so that you have helpful information available. With the right information, you can make with best choice for your life with clarity.
Along with this article, there are adoption specialists are available to help you decide which adoption option is best for you as you move forward with the process. To get started, contact us online today to be connected with a helpful adoption agency.
Types of Adoption
One of the first choices you will need to make is what kind of adoption you want to pursue. It’s always recommended that you do extensive research before deciding on one type of adoption from the different adoption options.
As you are the only one who can decide what kind of adoption is best for you and your baby, here are the basics you should know about each adoption process:
Private Domestic Adoption
In a private, domestic infant adoption, you make an intentional adoption plan, usually while you are still pregnant. If you work with an adoption agency, you’ll have the support and guidance from an adoption specialist who will assist you through every step of the process, from making your adoption plan to offering counseling and support long after placement has taken place.
Adoption agencies offer a range of adoption- and pregnancy-related services to help make sure you can spend more time focusing on having a healthy pregnancy without worrying near as much about the stressful details. These services can include:
- Free, 24/7 counseling and hotline
- Adoption financial assistance
- Assistance with legal representation
- And more
By working with an ethical adoption agency, you can ensure that your adoption is completed legally and successfully.
Independent Adoption
There are birth mothers who already know who they want to adopt their child, or they don’t have the necessary and helpful information about adoption agencies that they should have. In these situations, birth mothers complete an independent adoption without the assistance of an adoption agency.
In an independent adoption, a lot more responsibility and work is placed on you, such as finding an adoption lawyer for finalization, and covering all legal or adoption fees that an agency would have otherwise assisted with. If the responsibility required in this adoption option gives you pause or concern, you may be better off working with an adoption agency.
Starting Your Adoption
Regardless of where you are at with your pregnancy — if you’ve just discovered you’re pregnant or your baby has already been born — you can begin your adoption process at any time. The choice of placing your baby for adoption is not a decision that happens overnight, so you always have the option of choosing adoption whenever you’re ready.
Especially if you work with an adoption agency, placing a baby for adoption later on does not necessarily impact the services the agency can provide to you. An ethical adoption agency should treat you with as much care and respect as a woman who chooses adoption in the early months of her pregnancy. You will also receive as many adoption options as possible, no matter when you start this process.
Adoption Professionals
After you have decided that adoption is best for you, you have several options for adoption professionals you can work with. In general, your adoption options for professionals are:
- Adoption Agency: Typically, an adoption agency will handle every aspect of your adoption, including helping you find the best adoptive family for your baby, offering counseling, facilitating assistance for legal fees and living expenses, plus more. Local adoption agencies will be more familiar with the area and will only work with adoptive families from the region, whereas national adoption agencies will have a larger pool of adoptive parents to choose from and a bigger staff to help you.
- Adoption Lawyer: Working with an adoption lawyer will ensure that all of your adoption legal steps are completed properly. When you choose adoption, your legal expenses will be covered by adoption financial assistance. Your agency and attorney will also help break down the details of your state’s adoption laws and requirements to make sure you’re going about your adoption ethically and correctly.
- Adoption Facilitator: This kind of adoption professional usually only provides services for matching you with an adoptive family. By working with an adoption facilitator, you will most likely need to hire another adoption professional to help you legally complete your adoption and provide you other support resources and services.
Your Adoption Plan
Once you choose an adoption professional, they will explain all of the adoption options available to you as you create your adoption plan. You have full control of your entire adoption process, including deciding that adoption is not right for you.
As you work through creating your adoption plan, here are some of the things you’ll get to decide:
- Choosing the Adoptive Family: Your adoption professional will help you determine your preferences and desires for the kind of family you want to raise your child. They will provide you with adoptive family profiles to review that match your preferences and allow you to learn more about the family before you decide if you want to meet them. You do not have to choose a family until you’re completely sure of your choice, and you can also change adoptive families if the original family you chose doesn’t make you feel completely certain.
- Determining Your Adoption Relationship: You have the ability to choose whether you want to maintain an open, semi-open, or closed adoption relationship. The post-adoption relationship you choose should be based on what you need to help you and move forward after placement.
- Creating a Hospital Plan: Your adoption specialist will work with you to build a plan for how you want your hospital experience to go. For this, you’ll choose what hospital you want to deliver at, how much time you want with your baby, and even who you want in the delivery room with you. Your time at the hospital will also likely involve you signing your adoption consent papers.
Choosing Your Adoption Options Today
As a pregnant woman considering adoption, you have the right to determine all of your adoption options before, during, and after your adoption process. Each adoption in the United States is unique, so you have the chance to create the best adoption plan for you and your baby.
Contact us online today to learn more about your adoption options and how you can get started now. Our adoption professionals are not here to only talk you through your adoption options, but help you feel confident in whichever option you choose for your unplanned pregnancy.