One of the options you have for your unplanned pregnancy is adoption. Placing a child for adoption in a loving home is a viable and compassionate alternative. It can be a good solution for a mother who is not ready to parent a child. Like all of your options, adoption is a serious and difficult decision. We want to give you as much information as possible so you can make a truly informed choice. Schedule an appointment at Coweta Pregnancy Services to learn more about this wonderful option for you and your future.
Understanding Adoption
Adoption is a legal, lifelong parenting relationship for a child. If he’s available, a birth mother (and birth father) make an adoption plan for their child. The process takes time and can be very emotional but also very rewarding.
In decades past, women went away to give birth because it was socially unacceptable to be unwed mothers. They had no say in choosing the family, the terms, or even the adoption location. Birth mothers were encouraged to never talk about their child as if he or she didn’t exist. There was incredible shame.
Adoption today is very different. Unlike before, birth mothers are in complete control of the adoption process. You decide who the adopting couple will be, what type of home life you want for your child, and how much contact you wish to have in the future. The adoptive families pay for all legal and medical costs associated with the adoption. You pay nothing.
Types of Adoptions
If you are not ready to be a parent, adoption allows another parenting option. Even though you are not responsible for the day-to-day responsibilities, you are still a mother. Listed below are a few adoption plans you can consider. None of them are right or wrong. It’s what seems best to you.
Open Adoption
As a birth mother, you choose how involved you want to be in your child’s future. An open adoption plan means you and the adoptive family share information such as full names, phone numbers, and addresses. Together, you and the adoptive family determine how often you will contact one another. You can speak to one another through face-to-face meetings and phone calls, or choose to send texts and letters.
Some families have very close relationships with their child’s birth mother and possibly the birth father. Even birth grandparents can become actively involved. The birth family becomes another extension of the adoptive family. Through regular contact, you have the opportunity to be a part of your child’s life as he or she grows.
Closed Adoption
Some women who choose adoption prefer to have no communication with the adoptive family or their child. They feel this is the best choice to move on with their lives. As the birth mother, you will still choose the adoptive family, but you do not interact with them before or after birth. Your identity remains completely anonymous in a closed adoption.
Semi-Open Adoption
A semi-open adoption is somewhere in between the other two plans. Any communication you have will be through a third party, like a lawyer or an adoption agency. You will still choose the adopting family, but your relationship will be more controlled.
You may exchange first names, but you don’t give any other identifying information such as phone numbers or addresses. Letters, photos, and gifts are exchanged through the lawyer or agency. You have limited exposure to one another.
Knowing If Adoption Is Right For You
Coweta Pregnancy Services can help answer your adoption questions. We can talk about the pros and cons, provide referrals to adoption agencies, and give you all the information you need to make the best choice.
Every woman decides to make an adoption plan differently. Some women deeply struggle, and others never doubt it is best for both themselves and their child. Either way, you don’t have to make this decision on your own. We’re ready to take this life journey with you.