Dealing with an unplanned pregnancy is a stressful situation to be in, so you may have spent some time researching your unplanned pregnancy options. Adoption could be speaking to you, but you’re unsure whether this is a viable path for you or not. We can assure you that it’s never too early (or too late) to start making an adoption plan for your unborn baby.
To get free adoption information now, then you can fill out our online contact form at any time. In the meantime, though, we have created this complete guide for women like you. If you’re wondering, “How do I put my unborn child up for adoption,” then you’re in the right place.
How to “Give My Unborn Baby Up” for Adoption [Adoption Is Always an Option]
You may be curious about how to put your unborn baby up for adoption. The good news is that you can choose adoption at any point in your pregnancy. Most of the preparation can be taken care of during your pregnancy so that, when the baby is born, a clear adoption plan is in place.
All that will be left to do is make the final adoption decision and sign the consent paperwork. Also, you can always change your mind about your adoption decision during your pregnancy. You can even change your mind after birth until you sign the official consent paperwork.
Still, it can be helpful to understand the process of putting an unborn baby up for adoption. Below, we’ll go over the basic steps of the adoption process so that you can make the best choice for both yourself and your baby.
Step 1: Find an Adoption Professional and Make an Adoption Plan
The first step of any adoption process is to find a reputable professional to work with — like an adoption agency. Once you find an adoption agency that you like, you can begin making an adoption plan with your professional.
When you are a prospective birth mother, you are in 100% control of the adoption plan from start to finish. You get to call all the shots while your agency does all the heavy lifting.
Step 2: Choose the Right Adoptive Family for Your Unborn Baby
If you are wondering, “how to put my unborn baby up for adoption,” then one part of that journey is choosing the right adoptive family for your baby.
This might sound really hard, but the process isn’t too complicated when you work with an adoption agency. Your agency will show you family profiles to help you make this important decision. It’s kind of like looking through somebody’s social media profile — you get to see pictures, a video and letters from the family to get a sense of the type of life they’d provide for your child.
You can start browsing hopeful adoptive family profiles whenever you want, too.
Also, your agency can be there for your first conversation with the hopeful adoptive parents. This can help get rid of any lingering nerves or tension. By having your professional break the ice, you can start getting to know the hopeful adoptive family a bit better. Remember to listen to your “gut,” as it can often steer you in the right direction.
Step 3: Get to Know the Adoptive Family
After you’ve met them for the first time (either in person, or over a phone or video call), you can start getting to know the adoptive family. This can help you feel more certain in your decision and ensure that they meet all your needs and preferences. When you’re choosing “adoption for my unborn baby,” part of that process can be developing a relationship with your child’s adoptive parents.
If you’re choosing open adoption, then that means staying in touch with your child and their adoptive parents before, during and after the adoption journey. Because you are the prospective birth mother, you can choose what level of openness you prefer.
You also get to choose the forms of communication that you use with the hopeful adoptive parents. These include:
- Text messages
- Emails
- Phone calls
- In-person visits
- Handwritten letters
- Pictures
- Or whatever you feel comfortable with
Keep in mind that the way you maintain contact with the adoptive family is completely up to you. You are in 100% control of your adoption plan from the beginning to the end.
Step 4: Complete Your Hospital Stay and Paperwork
The next step of your adoption journey is completing the hospital stay. When you are “giving my unborn child up” for adoption, you will make a hospital plan with the guidance of your adoption professional. This outlines the details of your hospital stay, such as:
- Who you’d like to be in the room to support you
- Who you want to hold the baby first
- What hospital you want to deliver the baby at
Once you deliver the baby, you’ll typically wait 24-72 hours, depending on what state you live in, before signing any official paperwork. This gives you the time you need to consider everything before you make this permanent decision.
Step 5: Adjust to Your New Life as a Birth Parent
After you sign the paperwork, you can start moving forward with life after adoption.
Now that you have finished “putting my unborn baby up for adoption,” you can continue to pursue your dreams while you watch your child grow up happy and healthy in a loving home. Remember that you can receive free, 24/7 counseling from your adoption agency even after placement.
Benefits of Choosing Adoption during Pregnancy
Although you can choose adoption before, during or after your pregnancy, there are specific benefits of choosing adoption while you are pregnant.
If you wait until after birth, then you may not receive some of these benefits. We will outline some of these below to give you a better understanding:
- You have more time to work on your adoption plan. When you’re putting an unborn baby up for adoption during pregnancy, you’ll have much more time to create your adoption plan. This way, you can ensure that you’ll account for all your needs.
- You can receive pregnancy-related living expenses. Through adoption financial assistance, adoption is completely free for prospective birth mothers like you. It can cover all your pregnancy- and adoption-related costs.
- You have more time to find the perfect adoptive family. You don’t want to rush the process of finding the adoptive family. Be sure to take all the time that you need to find the right adoptive parents for your child. It’s one of the most important parts of any adoption journey.
If you have any more questions about how to put your unborn baby up for adoption, then you can get more adoption information now. We’d love to connect you with a helpful adoption agency.
