What is the Difference Between Open, Closed and Semi-Open Adoptions?

While every adoption professional has a different interpretation of what a closed, open or semi-open adoption entails, the following is a description of how American Adoptions defines each type of adoption.

Open Adoptions

While many adoption professionals have varying definitions of what an open adoption is, it typically means that the birth parents and the adoptive family speak prior to and even after the child is born. This may include phone calls and face-to-face visits. Some adoptions of this nature are very open, with the adoptive family and birth parents exchanging contact information and agreeing to periodic visits by the birth parents as the child grows. It is also common in open adoptions for the adoptive family to mail pictures and letters to the birth parents.