What is Private Adoption?

If you are researching adopting a baby, you could be starting an exciting private adoption journey, and you likely have many questions.

You can speak to a professional at 1-800-ADOPTION or click here to connect with us now to get all of your questions answered.

We think you deserve the best adoption experience. As a national, full-service private adoption agency, with more than 30 years of experience with private baby adoptions, we’ve made it our goal to help guide you through your questions about adoption — whether you are a casual learner or a potential adoptive family.

What is a full-service private adoption agency, exactly? And what is private adoption? This guide will answer those questions and more.

If you're a prospective birth mother searching for information on private adoption, you can also call 1-800-ADOPTION or click here for information from our experienced professionals. We also have a complete guide to adoption here.

What Is Private Adoption?

Broadly speaking, a private adoption occurs when hopeful adoptive parents work with a private adoption agency to adopt an infant from the U.S. On the other side of this process, a prospective birth mother voluntarily chooses to create an adoption plan for her baby.

 “Private adoption” goes by several names. They include:

• Domestic adoption
• Infant adoption
• Newborn adoption
• Private domestic adoption

Private adoption is different from the other two primary types of adoption:

• Foster care adoption is different because children are waiting in government care, and adoption is generally outside of the birth mother’s control.
• International adoption is adoption done across international borders, and it will depend on international government regulations

As you consider which type is right for you, it’s a good idea to look into all three. Foster care and international adoptions more frequently handle adoptions of older children. Here, we’re focusing on private adoption.

How to Privately Adopt a Baby

The private adoption process is unique from the other types of adoption. The first thing to do, after you know that this is the type of adoption you want to pursue, is to seek out private adoption services. This means finding a private adoption agency to work with.

American Adoptions is a full-service, fully-licensed national private adoption agency. We just threw a lot of terms at you, so let’s break that down:

• Full-service: The private infant adoption process is long. There are a lot of unique steps involved. Many agencies are only equipped to meet the requirements of a few steps, but not us. We are a full-service agency, which means we can take care of you from start to finish. This continuity throughout the process helps families feel more confident and be at peace.
• Fully-licensed: Some adoption professionals are beholden to no one outside of themselves. This means that there is no objective review to ensure they are doing things the right way. American Adoptions is a fully-licensed agency, which means we are held to the highest standards possible and subjected to trustworthy oversight. In short: we do things the right way.
• National: American Adoptions conducts a nationwide search to find the right adoption opportunity for you during the private adoption process. This increase the likelihood of finding a placement that truly fits. It also shortens wait times for most adoptive families. Our large staff is responsive and experienced. We will put you in the best situation possible.

Working with a private adoption agency like American Adoptions can make your experience with the adoption process much better. You can find out more about our domestic infant adoption programs to see which one is the best fit for you.

Advantages of Private Adoption

There are plenty of benefits to private adoptions that are worth considering. Ultimately, how much these benefits matter is up to you. For instance, you may be in a position where shorter wait times aren’t as important, whereas another family could highly value this benefit.

Here are a few key benefits to private domestic adoption:

• More control over the process: When you begin the private adoption process with American Adoptions, you will fill out something called an Adoption Planning Questionnaire (APQ). This is your chance to set the boundaries on your adoption. You can tell your adoption specialist specifically what you are hoping for and what you are not okay with. This gives you more control over the private adoption process than other types of adoption can afford.
• Personal guidance from an adoption specialist: Personal connection is vital in a process that can be this emotional. At American Adoptions, your adoption specialist will guide you through each step and be there when you call.
• Greater access to medical background and other pertinent information: When a birth mother chooses adoption for her baby, she works with our team to provide as much pertinent information as possible. At placement, this information is passed along, which can be incredibly helpful as medical needs arise in the future. Knowing the genetic history of your child is something that other types of adoption don’t generally allow for.
• Fulfilling the dream of becoming parents: Of course, this is the ultimate benefit of private baby adoption. That moment when you hold your baby for the first time is life-changing in a way that nothing else is. Dreams become reality in the form of your child. What could be better?
• The possibility of an open adoption: Not only do you get to add a child to your family, in some cases you can build a special relationship with your child’s birth parents and continue contact through calls, videos, emails, or yearly visits, which can also reassure your child that the choice their birth parents made was done out of love.

If You Are Looking to Adopt a Baby Privately Today

If you are interested in more information about private adoption, or if you are ready to begin the private adoption process, get more free information online at any time.

If you're pregnant and looking to place your child for adoption with a wonderful family, reach out to one of our adoption professionals 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.