What Could Adoption Look Like for You?
If you are pregnant and considering adoption, you may have questions about what the process actually involves. Can you choose the adoptive family? Will you be able to have contact with your child? What decisions would you make along the way?
You may also be wondering how you would feel about adoption months or years from now. Those are significant questions, and you don’t need to rush through them.
The Cottage Women’s Care provides no-cost pregnancy services and adoption information in Bartlesville. Our advocates can talk with you about your concerns, provide general information about adoption, and connect you with additional resources if you decide you want to learn more.
What Does Adoption Look Like?
Adoption does not look the same for every woman or family. One of the decisions involved in creating an adoption plan is the amount of contact you would like to have with the adoptive family and your child.
Open adoption
Birth parents and adoptive families communicate directly. Depending on the adoption plan, contact may include phone calls, photos, letters, or visits.
Semi-open adoption
Communication and updates are typically facilitated through an adoption agency or another intermediary, which allows for greater privacy.
Closed adoption
There is typically no ongoing contact between the birth parents and adoptive family, and identifying information is kept private according to applicable laws and adoption procedures.
A licensed adoption agency can explain these arrangements in greater detail and help you understand how contact agreements and adoption laws apply to your circumstances.
What Decisions Could You Make?
Choosing adoption does not mean stepping away from every decision about your pregnancy or your child’s future.
Depending on the adoption process and applicable laws, you may be able to:
- Review and participate in choosing an adoptive family
- Express your preferences about future communication and contact
- Decide how much interaction you want with the adoptive family during your pregnancy
- Make preferences known for your experience at the hospital
A licensed adoption professional can explain your rights and which decisions you can make throughout the process.
What Questions Should You Consider?
Before deciding whether you want to explore adoption further, it may help to think about what matters most to you.
How do you feel about another family raising your child? Would you want contact after placement? What kind of relationship, if any, would you hope to have with the adoptive family? Who could support you during your pregnancy and after placement?
There may not be immediate or easy answers to these questions. Taking time to consider them can help you determine whether you want to learn more about adoption.
Where Does The Cottage Fit In?
The Cottage Women’s Care is not an adoption agency and does not facilitate adoptions.
Our role is to provide a place where you can ask questions and learn more before deciding whether to speak with an adoption professional. If you want additional information about the adoption process, our team can connect you with outside resources that can explain the legal process, your rights, and the services available to you.
Talking about adoption does not commit you to making an adoption plan.
Start With Your Questions
You don’t need to understand the entire adoption process before contacting us. Start with the questions and concerns you have right now.
