Adoption today offers a woman many choices when it comes to creating an adoption plan, which is why we don’t use the term “giving a baby up for adoption” anymore. Any woman having to decide what to do about an unplanned pregnancy needs to know that there are always options.
Creating an adoption plan is not a passive action. When you choose to take control of a bad situation and make the best decisions for you and your unborn baby, you are stepping into the role of a responsible adult. No matter what happened to get you here, choosing your next path is what matters. For many women, that means creating an adoption plan.
What is an Adoption Plan?
An adoption plan is a series of decisions that you make in regards to your child, such as choosing the family, choosing to have ongoing contact as your child grows up, and other things that that may be important to you.
At Lifetime Adoption, we see this work every day for women. And as soon as a birth mother realizes she has choices and options, and that there are many amazing families out there willing and happy to adopt a baby, the fear subsides and a plan can be put into place for transitioning that baby from mother to its new family.
Starting an Adoption Plan
The first step in an adoption plan is for the birth mother to contact Lifetime Adoption and ask for an adoption planning kit. The kit includes informative brochures about pregnancy and adoption, a magazine, profiles of adoptive families, and a book called So I was Thinking About Adoption, which you can also download for free from the website.
Look at Adoptive Family Profiles
After you get in touch with Lifetime Adoption, you can begin searching for a family who can love and care for your child. You can look through different profiles of families who are a good fit for you, and choose several to find out more about. After you find a family that is a good fit, you work together to decide how much contact you want, such as letters, photos, visits, or texts after the baby is born.
Enjoy a Healthy Pregnancy
After finding the perfect adoptive family, you can focus on continuing to grow a healthy baby. Medical care and pregnancy education are available to you, housing help can be found through Lifetime Adoption, and often the adoptive family can even lend a hand with expenses during your pregnancy.
Plan for Your Future
For many women, choosing an adoption plan for their baby makes room for them to continue down their chosen career path, or further their education. For a birth mother creating an adoption plan, scholarships are available to help ease the financial burden of higher education.
Women who choose to create an adoption plan are not giving anything up. They are choosing a path that fits their needs, and the needs of their baby. If you think you might want more information about starting an adoption plan, you can visit the Lifetime’s Birth Mother pages or call 800-923-6784 to have a confidential visit with an adoption coordinator.
Mardie Caldwell, C.O.A.P., is nationally recognized as an expert on open adoption. A Certified Open Adoption Practitioner (C.O.A.P.), Caldwell is the founder of Lifetime Adoption Center, established in 1986. She has assisted in over 2,000 successful adoptions and was one of the first adoption professionals on the Internet.
Caldwell’s life work is dedicated to educating and helping birth parents find the right adoptive parents for their child. She spreads the word about modern adoption through speaking appearances, webinars, online resources, and as a podcast show host.
She has written several award-winning books, including So I Was Thinking About Adoption, the first book of its kind. There are many reasons women choose adoption, and this short book is a comprehensive resource to make the best plan for you and your baby. Caldwell wrote So I Was Thinking About Adoption as a handy guide to the details of the adoption process.
Caldwell has made over 150 media appearances, including ABC News, CBS News, Larry King Live, CNN Headline News, NBC’s The Today Show, CNN’s The Campbell Brown Show, NBC News, KGO Newstalk Radio, CNN’s Black in America II, MSNBC, Fox, PBS, BBC, and Dr. Laura.
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