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Do You Want to Adopt a Newborn Baby?

How to Fulfill Your Dream of Adopting a Newborn

Adopting a newborn baby is one of life’s most beautiful journeys, but it can also be a long and sometimes complicated process.  

American Adoptions can help answer your questions about adopting a newborn and can help you throughout the adoption process.

You can also call 1-800-ADOPTION. We will help you answer some of the most common adoption questions in this article:

  • Should I adopt a newborn baby?

  • Who can help me adopt a newborn?

  • What are the important facts I need to consider for newborn adoption?

If you're a prospective birth mother looking for information on placing a newborn for adoption, you can get free online information and connect with an experienced adoption professional today. We're ready to help you better understand the adoption process and how you can find the perfect adoptive family for your newborn.

What Is Newborn Adoption?

There are several terms that overlap when we are talking about adopting a newborn. You will likely run across the phrases “private adoption,” “domestic adoption” and “infant adoption.” Are these the same thing? Generally speaking, yes. These phrases are used interchangeably in most situations.

However, newborn adoption does refer to something specific: When parents adopt a baby under 6 months old from the U.S. Even more specific than that, the vast majority of newborn adoptions occur at the hospital shortly following birth.

How Is that Different from Other Types of Adoption?

Adopting a newborn baby is not the only option for hopeful parents. There are several types of adoption, and choosing the one that fits your situation best is one of the big decisions a family makes in the adoption process.

Foster care adoption is the process of being placed with a child by the state and then finalizing the adoption of that child into your family. Foster care adoption is appealing to many hopeful parents. However, if you want to adopt a newborn baby, this probably isn’t the right route for you.

Most children in foster care who are waiting to be adopted are older, a sibling pair or a child with special needs. Adoption of an older child is beautiful, but it does come with unique challenges that not all parents are ready to face.

There’s also international adoption for future parents to consider. Adoptions from foreign countries have been declining amongst U.S. families since 2004. The reasons are many, including increased complexity, international politics and cost. While it is possible, it’s very difficult to adopt a newborn from a different country.

Both foster care and international adoption can be beautiful ways to start or grow a family. It all depends on your situation and what you feel you are prepared for. Many families considering adoption feel that they are most prepared for and excited about newborn adoption. If you feel that way, it’s perfectly okay, and you can pursue a domestic infant adoption of a newborn baby.

How Do I Adopt a Newborn Baby?

Each newborn adoption process is unique, because each family is unique. With that said, there are some big steps that everyone has to take.

First things first: you don’t adopt a newborn baby on your own. You do it with the help of an adoption agency. There are several types of agencies that help families adopting newborns, and American Adoptions is one of them.

We are a fully-licensed, full-service national adoption agency. We have helped thousands of families come together, and most of the adoptions we complete are newborn adoptions.

As a national adoption agency, we search for the best adoption opportunity for you across the country. Because of this, we offer families shorter wait times.

We are also a full-service agency, which means we are equipped with the tools to provide for you at every step of the adoption process. Some agencies, on the other hand, can only meet the requirements of a few steps and put you at unnecessary risk.

When you are adopting a newborn, you’ll work with American Adoptions to create a family profile that is shown to prospective birth mothers. When the right prospective birth mother sees your profile, she’ll select you to adopt her baby.

Thanks to the increasing prominence of open adoption, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to speak with the birth mother before and after birth.

Then, when the time comes, you will get an amazing call: it’s time to go to the hospital. Most families who are adopting newborn babies meet their baby very shortly after birth. After being placed with your baby, there will be a couple more steps to finalize the adoption.

This is only a brief overview. You can view more resources about how to adopt a newborn baby to get a more in-depth picture of the process.

 

Why Do Parents Choose to Adopt a Newborn Baby?

Each family has its own reasons for adoption. Because of that, some of these benefits of adoption for newborn babies may resonate with you, while others may not. It’s largely dependent on your personal situation. These are some reasons hopeful parents choose newborn baby adoption:

  • The dream of having a baby

    Many folks who dream of being parents specifically think about those special moments with a baby — holding them as they sleep, the first steps, the first words. These milestones are meaningful. If you want to experience them with your child, then adopting a newborn baby is one of your best options.

  • Access to important information

    Since your adoption agency is also serving the prospective birth mother, there is a higher likelihood you will have access to important medical information about your child. This type of genetic history can be important later in life.

  • The opportunity for open adoption

    Most newborn adoptions are at least semi-open. There are many benefits of open adoptions, and at this point, it is recommended by almost all professionals. These benefits can be especially pertinent for the child, who will eventually have questions about adoption and identity that are much more difficult to answer when all you have before placement is question marks and mystery.

These are only a handful of reasons someone may favor adopting a newborn over other types of adoption. This is your call to make, as you are the only person who can discern the best path forward for your family. All adoptions are beautiful pictures of love and family — we’re sure you will make the right choice.

Learn More about Adoption for Newborn Babies

We’re here to answer all of your questions. If you want to know more about adopting a newborn baby, click here to get more information today.

Disclaimer
Information available through these links is the sole property of the companies and organizations listed therein. American Adoptions provides this information as a courtesy and is in no way responsible for its content or accuracy.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Do we need to retain our own attorney?

No, American Adoptions has established relationships with some of the best adoption attorneys in the nation. Because adoption laws vary from state to state and between counties, it is important to utilize the services of an adoption attorney who specializes in the state where the adoption will finalize, which is unknown until you match with an expectant mother. You have the right to retain your own attorney, but doing so may be an additional, unnecessary expense.

Can we choose the gender of our baby?

American Adoptions does not allow gender specificity in adoption. Any family who wishes to be gender-specific in their adoption should contact us at 1-800-ADOPTION and ask about the possibility of an exception waiver before taking any other steps toward adoption with our agency. Any families who do receive an exception to be gender-specific may also incur an additional fee, which helps cover the additional advertising costs of such a request.

Please note that gender specificity will likely increase your wait time significantly.

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