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We activated our site in July and in Sept. 2007 I was contacted by a wonderful woman who came out to meet us in October. We all formed a great relationship and here we are with a beautiful baby boy who was born in early January. We are so grateful to her for giving us this beautiful son. We plan to see her and her family again and are thankful to ParentProfiles.com more ...
Considering Adoption
For some people, a positive pregnancy test isn't something that is going to fill them with happiness. There are many women for whom raising a child just isn't an option at this time in their lives. Some of them may want to but have circumstances which mean that the baby would be best raised in a different environment, and some women just don't feel ready to be a mother and take responsibility for a newborn. Should you find yourself in this position, placing the baby for adoption is one of the best options open to you as you know that your child will be going to someone who is longing for a baby and perhaps despite trying for many years has been unable to have one of their own. An adoption is a legal process and once the process is complete, there is no turning back however, so be very sure that this is what you want to do before signing the forms.
There are a number of options available to you once you make the decision to place your child for adoption. First of all, do you want to have a confidential or open adoption? If you wish for a confidential adoption, sometimes known as a closed adoption, you will have no knowledge of the adoptive parents at all, and your information will not be revealed to them. An open adoption gives you more control over the process, and there are different levels of how open you wish the adoption to be - for example, you can be allowed to read about prospective families and choose the one most suitable, but names will be not exchanged; or you can speak to them via telephone and get to know one another on a first name basis; or you could have an adoption where you either just meet the prospective parents at your adoption attorney/facilitator's office. It is even possible to have your baby adopted in a situation where you have full disclosure about the adoptive parents and will be allowed to have contact with the child over the years (you will not however have any legal rights over the child). Before making a decision on the kind of adoption that you think best suits you, make an appointment to speak to an adoption agency, or counselor (your ob/gyn or midwife should be able to give you contact information) and discuss the options in full detail so that you are sure you are making the right decision before placing your baby for adoption.
You will need to hire the services of an attorney for the adoption process, although a licensed adoption agency should be able to recommend one for you if they do not have one available to represent their birth mothers. Make sure that the attorney's services are covered by legal aid and that you will not be charged a fee if you change your mind about placing your baby for adoption. Your attorney will be able to advise you on the options available to you as regards private adoption should your state allow this.
Adoption is a legal process which starts with your positive pregnancy test and ends when the judge issues an Adoption Decree. It's a process which once finalized is irreversible so it needs to be thought through carefully before any decisions made. If you can't raise your child, but know that another parent will love it - and that you will be allowed contact with the child if you desire - then it's probably the best option available to you and worth researching a little more.
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