What About Making an Adoption Plan?
It may be hard to imagine someone else raising your child. But sometimes circumstances make placing your child for adoption the best option for everyone. Do you feel too young or too old to parent? Are you already raising other children and don’t have the resources for another child? Perhaps it’s just not the right time to become a parent.
Whatever your reasons, learning more about the adoption process and your rights as a birth mother helps you make a confident decision. Although we do not place children for adoption, we can make referrals to reputable adoption agencies and give you more information about the process.
What Is Adoption?
Adoption is the legal transfer of parenting rights and responsibilities from the birth parents to the adoptive parents. It is not co-parenting. The child permanently belongs to the adoptive family, but that doesn’t change the fact that you are a mother or father.
What Is The Process?
Your first step is to choose a reputable adoption agency that puts your needs and desires ahead of everything else. A national survey of birth parents found that a thorough explanation of what to expect and not feeling coerced made birth mothers happier with their adoption experience.
Can I Choose the Family?
Once you’ve decided making an adoption plan is right for you and your child, you will look at potential adoptive couple’s bios. You determine which couple is best. Do you want your child to live on a farm or in the city? Should they have immediate siblings or be the oldest child? You decide according to what is essential to you.
Can I Have Contact With My Child Afterward?
How much contact you have with your child depends on the adoption plan you choose. Here are the three plans:
Open
An open adoption means you exchange identifying information with each other. You have regular contact, whether by phone, email or in person. Studies find that an open adoption is best for the child, birth mother, and adoptive couple.
Semi-Open
A semi-open adoption is similar to an open plan but provides more privacy. You still communicate with the adoptive family and your child, but your adoption coordinator handles all communication as a go-between.
Closed
If you wish to remain anonymous and do not want contact with your child or their adoptive family, choose a closed adoption.