Adopt a Baby

The adoption process explained with details about adoption agencies and health issues affectin adopted children.

Adopt a Baby: Beginning the adoption process.

We are hoping to adopt a baby soon. We are anxious about the whole process and don't really know where to start. How do people adopt babies?

Adoptions are usually arranged either through an agency or through an attorney who specializes in adoptions. Adoption agencies are either public or private. Public agencies, which are usually operated by state governments, tend to deal mainly with older children who have medical or psychosocial special needs.

Private agencies are licensed by the state, and are funded by fees received from adoptive parents. Their fees vary as do their services. Usually they provide counseling for both the mother who places her baby for adoption and for the family adopting. Studies have shown that counseling helps both parties. There are many issues associated with the process of adoption. For the birth mother she has to deal with the placing of her baby for adoption, and the mother who adopts adjusts to the changes in her life as a result of the new baby. Neither one of these adjustments are easy.

Independent adoption occurs when the adoptive parents locate a birth mother. Such a situation may occur when a family member or friend knows of a woman wishing to place her baby for adoption. An attorney must handle the legal aspects of such an adoption and arrange for the needed adoption study to be done and negotiate financial agreements. Independent adoptions comprise approximately 50 percent of all infant adoptions in the United States today.

Adoption arrangements are either open or closed. In open adoptions the birth and adoptive parents learn about each other through profiles prepared by the agency or attorney, and often meet in person. This gives the birth mother the opportunity to choose the family that best meets her desires for her child. Many adoptive parents agree to keep in touch after placement through letters, photographs, phone calls or visits. This differs greatly from closed adoptions in which no identifying information is shared. The vast majority of adoptions today involve some degree of openness. Both the birth and adoptive parents need to decide on what degree of openness is right for them both now and for in the future.

There are adoption agencies and adoption attorneys in the phone book. You probably want to interview several choices before you make the decision which one will best suit your needs. Some other resources are: Family Resource Center, (800) 676-2229, a private, nonprofit agency serving both birth and adoptive parents; the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys (202-832-2222); the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse (888-251-0075); and here in Florida the Daniel Memorial adopting information center (800-96 ADOPT).

The adoption process will be full of emotions. Prepare yourself for the complete run of your emotions - hope, excitement, disappointment, joy, and mental and physical exhaustion. Just like the actual pregnancy!

Katie Powers, R.N., is a board-certified lactation consultant and perinatal educator at Manatee Memorial Hospital's Family BirthPlace. Her column appears every other week in WellBeing. Contact her at katie.powers@mmhhs.com.

Content provided by HeraldToday.com

A Registered Nurse shares her thoughts on how to Adopt a Baby.

 

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