Pregnant and Considering Adoption?

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If you are experiencing an unplanned pregnancy and are trying to make decisions that will be in your best interest and in the best interest of your child, adoption may be right for you.  This decision is a personal one and what may be right for one person may not be right for another.  Before you make any decisions, it would be in your interest, and in the interest of your unborn child, to receive counseling.  This will provide you the opportunity to receive objective input from a professional and to learn factual information about adoption.  You will then be in a better position to make an informed decision about your future and the future of your child.

Adoption agencies often provide counseling and other support services.  A counselor will ask you many questions to help you in your decision-making process.  Examples of important issues to consider are:

	Could I handle a child and a job and/or school at the same time?
	An example of something I would give up by having a child with me is...?
	Am I able to give the child the love he/she needs/deserves?
	Am I patient enough to deal with the noise, confusion, and the 24-hour-a-day responsibility of having a child?
	How would I take care of my child's health and safety?

Many adoption agencies offer support groups that allow expectant mothers to speak with birthmothers who have placed for adoption.  These individuals' experiences and insights can be an invaluable tool.

It will also be important to consider the adoption process itself.  There are two types of adoptions, confidential and open.  Talk to your counselor about the type of adoption that is best for you.

Confidential: The birth parents and the adoptive parents never know each other.  Adoptive parents are given background information about you and the birth father that they would need to help them take care of the child, such as medical information.

Open: The birth parents and the adoptive parents know something about each other.  There are different levels of openness:

	Least open - You will read about several possible adoptive families and pick the one that sounds best for your baby.  You will not know each other's names.
	More open - You and the possible adoptive family will speak on the telephone and exchange first names.
	Even more open - You can meet the possible adoptive family.  Your social worker or attorney will arrange the meeting at the adoption agency or attorney's office.
	Most open - You and the adoptive parents share your full names, addresses, and telephone numbers.  You stay in contact with the family and your child over the years, by visiting, calling, or writing each other.  Fifteen states have enacted laws that recognize post-adoption contact between adoptive and birth families if the parties have voluntarily agreed to this plan.

State laws govern the process of placing a child for adoption and these laws vary across the country.  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services maintains a National Adoption Information Clearinghouse which provides a directory of adoption agencies, support groups, and statewide services and other helpful information such as legal considerations for adoption.

Contact the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse with any questions:
National Adoption Information Clearinghouse
330 C Street, SW
Washington, DC 20447
Phone: (703) 352-3488 or (888) 251-0075
http://naic.acf.hhs.gov/