Articles for Pregnant Women

Choosing An Adoption Professional

When deciding on adoption, one of the first things will be choosing which adoption professional who you will work with in finding an adoptive family for your child. They all have their pros and cons and all are divided into three categories.

1. Adoption Agency
2. Attorney
3. Facilitator

Adoption Agency - Adoption agencies are licensed and regulated by state authorities. This means they must follow certain standards to be able to continue providing services. State authorities review their files to make sure agency standards are kept at a very high level. Adoption agencies usually handle the entire adoption process for you. Adoption agencies can be divided into three categories.

• Small agencies - Usually one or two staff members are employed. The advantage is you can become very intimate with the staff at this agency. The disadvantages are that small agencies usually only serve a specific county or state. This complicates things if you wish to choose an adoptive family from another area or if you plan to relocate in the future. Small agencies are not typically able to serve beyond their geographic area. Furthermore, small agencies rarely provide support after regular business hours which can be frustrating to many pregnant women. You also need to check for religious affiliation as this can be uncomfortable for pregnant mothers who don't share religious views.
• Medium sized - Usually five or more staff members are employed. The advantage is medium-sized agencies usually serve a larger geographic area, which provides you more support and options. It is important to determine the areas served, because should you move outside their coverage area, you may not be able to receive support services.
• National agencies- Usually twenty or more staff members are employed. The advantage is national agencies typically serve all fifty states. They often have a wide selection of adoptive families who they screen and educate more than medium or small-sized agencies. This allows you to feel more secure in selecting a family who is going to be a great mom and dad. You can move to state and national agencies will either provide services to you or arrange for services to be provided. This is especially beneficial for adopted children - as they grow they can reach out and get answers to questions they may have about adoption. National agencies also provide around-the-clock service and often have one staff member who is your guide throughout the entire process. American Adoptions is a national agency. You can review the wide selection of American Adoptions adoptive family profiles here.

Adoption Facts: Then and Now

Adoption has had a broad history. Just as American society has evolved and changed through the generations, so has the process of adoption.

In the early 1930s, it was a widely held belief that adoption should be a discreet process, that secrecy should be maintained to protect not just the adoptive family, but also the birth parents. American society believed that a relationship between the child, the adoptive family and the birth parents would just cause undue stress and emotion for everyone involved. This was furthered by the societal view that being an unwed mother was shameful, and, as a result many women quietly snuck away to a maternity home and placed their baby for adoption.

However, by the early 1980s, society came to realize that this secrecy, guilt and shame only lead to resentment and depression. Not only did adopted children not have a sense of where they came from, but women who had placed their babies for adoption were forced to live their lives never knowing what happened to their baby.

As a result, the face of adoption is very different today. Instead of being shrouded in secrecy, today's adoptions are an open process in which birth parents, adoptive parents and the child embrace their relationship to one another.

Instead of simply handing over your baby to an adoption agency, birth mothers today formulate their own adoption plan, tailored to their own wants and desires for the birth and the life of their child.

As a pregnant mother, you will be able to hand-pick the adoptive family for your child. If you desire a family with no children, one of a specific religion or even one that lives in a specific state or region, the choice is yours. If you want to meet the family prior to the birth, you may specify that as part of your adoption plan. Likewise, if you want the adoptive family to be present - or not present - for the birth, the choice is yours.

The Adoption Process: Step by Step

Are you considering adoption for your child, but don’t fully understand how the adoption process works? This article will provide you insight into every stage of the adoption process with American Adoptions, and some valuable supporting articles to read within each.

This is Your Choice

The face of adoption has changed dramatically over the past decade. Once an act of "moral" right, women facing an unplanned pregnancy chose adoption because they felt they had no other choice. Not only were they pressured to choose adoption, but they had no say in how their child was raised, let alone a voice in how the adoption plan was to proceed.

Unfortunately, many people still believe that this is how adoption is today - when in reality, it is very different.

Not only are women free to choose from a variety of options when facing an unplanned pregnancy, but women choosing adoption have their voices heard throughout the entire process.

Today's adoption process is very much like a road trip - the birth mother is in the driver's seat, choosing which road to take, how fast to go and is even free to stop and get out of the car whenever she wishes. The adoptive family is in the backseat, going along for the ride with the birth mother, but not having any control over the trip itself.

What's the Difference Between an Open, Closed and Semi-Open Adoption?

Whether you are just beginning to explore your pregnancy options, or have already decided to pursue adoption, there are many options available to help make your adoption plan the way you want it.

One of those options is what kind of adoption you would like to have - all varying depending on what contact, if any, you will have with the adoptive family and/or your child as they grow up.

At American Adoptions, each pregnant woman we work with is able to form her own individualized adoption plan. Not only will you be able to choose an adoptive family to raise your child, but you will also have the opportunity, if you wish, to meet the adoptive family in person, speak with them over the telephone or e-mail, or whether or not you want to continue contact with the family once your child is placed with them.

Adoption Plan: How to Make One?

What is best for your baby?

Most pregnant women often consider adoption because they are putting their baby’s needs ahead of their own. Adoption gives a child a wonderful mom and dad who are eager and ready to raise a child as their own. When you first look into adoption, it is common to experience doubts. These doubts tend to turn into good solid feelings about adoption as you learn more about adoption and as you get to know more about the adoptive family. Adoption is a wonderful option for almost every child. They are given a mountain of opportunities and are given all the love in the world. Couples who choose adoption do so because they want nothing more in the world than a child to love unconditionally and care for, forever.

Adoption Costs: Are There Any for Birth Mothers?

Having a baby in the United States often ranks as one of the biggest medical expenses many people will ever experience. While everything from a new maternity wardrobe to the increase in food pregnant women buy factors in to the cost of having a baby, the medical expenses by far outweigh all others. The average cost of giving birth to a baby in a hospital is $10,000. If a Caesarian section becomes necessary - which now accounts for 30 percent of all births - the cost easily doubles to $20,000 or more.

While certainly not the only factor, financial difficulties often play a major role in the choice to choose an alternative to parenting.

By definition, facing an unplanned pregnancy means that you have not been able to prepare for the birth of a child, as couples who plan conception have had the opportunity to do - and even then, many say in retrospect that nothing can truly prepare you for the cost and experience of raising a child.

Regardless, American Adoptions firmly believes that an inability to pay for all having a baby entails should never, ever be the deciding factor between whether a baby lives, or is aborted.

Request Free Adoption Information

Whether you just began pondering the adoption option or are already certain adoption will allow you to provide the best life for your baby, American Adoptions can help! Receive our free Guide for Women Considering Adoption today!

Transracial AdoptionTransracial adoption refers to the adoption of a child that is of a different race than that of the adoptive parents. Each year, American Adoptions works with hundreds of pregnant women from all types of backgrounds - including Caucasian (white), Hispanic, African-American (black), biracial, Asian, Native American, etc.
I Have Already Located an Adoptive Family

While many of the women working with our agency often need our assistance to help them find a family for their baby, some women do not. Instead, some women have already found the perfect family for their baby and only need assistance finalizing the adoption. This is referred to as an Identified Adoption.