Question: “My baby just turned one, and while it’s hard to imagine putting her up for adoption after a year of loving and caring for her, it’s also hard to think of what could happen if I don’t choose adoption now. I can’t hold a job because the best jobs require hours beyond usual daycare hours. If I can’t pay my bills, I can’t take care of her. Is it too late to give my baby up for adoption?”
Answer: It’s never too late to make an adoption plan for your child. There is no cost to you, and Lifetime is here to help.
We’ve helped many women who tried parenting before turning to adoption. You can oversee the entire adoption planning process, and that includes deciding when you’re ready to begin.
It’s Never Too Late
No matter if your child is weeks, months, or years old, adoption is always a decision that you can make. If you choose adoption later on for your child, you have the same choices and rights as a pregnant woman making an adoption plan, including:
- Creating an adoption plan that meets your goals for your child’s future
- Choosing the perfect adoptive parents for your child
- Deciding on how much contact you’d like to have with the adoptive family and your child (both before and after the adoption)
- The ability to get the resources, support, and services you need
- The power to determine when you’re ready to sign adoption paperwork
You can also move through the adoption process at your own speed. Lifetime isn’t here to persuade or pressure you into a decision you’re uncomfortable with.
There’s no “wrong time” to start looking into adoption and no deadline to do what’s best for yourself and your baby. To learn more about your choices and how to move forward with adoption, you can contact Lifetime anytime by giving us a call or sending us a text at 1-800-923-6784. Is it too late for adoption? No.
Your Choices With Adoption
If you’re not ready to become a parent, adoption could be the best way to give your child the life you would want for them. With modern, open adoption, you can choose the adoptive parents for your child and how you want things to go at the hospital when you deliver. Plus, you can stay in touch with your child as they grow up. You’ll work out the details of how you want to communicate in the future with the adoptive family. This contact could come in many forms, such as:
- Emails
- Phone calls
- Texts
- Zoom or Skype
- Letters
- In-person visits
- Social media posts
Lifetime’s adoption specialists are here to help you find the perfect adoptive parents for your baby. All of our hopeful adoptive parents have online profiles that include lots of information about themselves, which you can access whenever you like.
On an adoptive family’s website, you’ll see pictures and videos of the family members, their home, their hobbies, and the activities they enjoy doing. They also include information about why they want to adopt, their faith, occupations, and their promises to you, their future child’s birth mother.
Once you find an adoptive couple you like, you can chat with them and get to know them better. Your adoption specialist will arrange a time for you to call them.
When you speak with the couple on the phone, you can ask them questions to decide if they are the right family to raise your child. Here are some questions you could ask to make the most of your first conversation.
Getting Medical Care
Lifetime can help you find a medical professional who can provide prenatal care at no cost to you. Regular prenatal care can help you give birth to a healthier baby and reduce the risk of your baby being born prematurely, which may lead to health issues.
See your doctor regularly for prenatal visits to monitor your health and your baby’s health. Get screened and treated for STDs, HIV, blood sugar, and/or high blood pressure. Make sure to share with your doctor about the medications you’re taking as well as any drug or alcohol use.
It’s Never Too Late to Choose Adoption
Adoption is always an option; it’s never too late. You can take as long as you need to make an adoption decision. Many women decide in the last term of pregnancy that adoption is the best choice for their baby. Others may choose earlier in their pregnancies, from the hospital when they go into labor, or even after the baby is born.
Lifetime has also helped many women who tried parenting before turning to adoption. You can oversee the entire adoption planning process, and that includes deciding when you’re ready to begin. Whether your child is weeks, months, or years old, adoption is always a decision you can make.
Choosing Adoption Post-Delivery
Some women wonder, “Can I place my baby for adoption at the hospital?” After-delivery adoption is actually more common than you might think. While many adoptions involve newborns and infants, you can also place an older child with a new family.
Lifetime helps with the adoption of children up to seven years old. If you’re interested in learning more about placing a child older than seven, feel free to reach out to us. We’d be happy to provide referrals to connect you with the resources you need in your area.
You can choose to place your baby for adoption at any point in the labor and delivery process. You can also choose to parent at this time.
Even if you choose to place your child for adoption at the hospital, you can have an experience that is very similar to the experience of any other birth mother. You may have to speed up your selection of adoptive parents, but you can still come to the right decision for your child.
After delivery, you can choose an adoptive family while in recovery. You can talk with them on the phone to get a feel for their personalities. Lifetime already pre-screens the families, so you can feel confident that your baby is going to a safe and loving family.
You can even take your baby home after the hospital and begin parenting. After you better understand the reality of parenting, you can always change your mind. Whether this happens six days later or six months later, adoption is always an option for you. It’s never too late to choose adoption.
Why Do People Choose After-Delivery Adoption?
Lifetime has had many women call us from the hospital in the early stages of labor, saying that they’d like to do adoption for their baby. Women who decide to place their baby after delivery do so for many reasons, including:
- Financial struggles
- Inability to parent another child
- Health issues and complications
- Lifestyle incompatible with raising a child
- Desire to provide their child with more
These are all valid reasons to make a loving and positive choice to place your baby for adoption.
Lifetime is Here for You
Adoption isn’t a choice you make at the spur of the moment, so Lifetime continues to be here for you throughout your decision-making process. We can help you at any time in your pregnancy, whether you decide in the first few months or at the end of your pregnancy.
Getting in touch with us doesn’t mean you have to choose adoption, but it allows us to answer your questions and learn more about you and your situation. That way, we can help you create an adoption plan tailored just to you. We’re not here to rush you or pressure you. It’s entirely your choice. Any and all info you share with us is kept confidential.
Lifetime Adoption provides confidential help to hundreds of women each year from all backgrounds and situations. Call or text Lifetime Adoption at 1-800-923-6784 whenever you’re ready to learn more about adoption.
We’re here to talk you through the steps and help you make your own decision. Adoption can be a great choice for many women, even if they do not know it until days, weeks, or months later.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on June 14, 2016, and has since been updated.
As Vice President of Lifetime Adoption, Heather Featherston holds an MBA and is passionate about working with those facing adoption, pregnancy, and parenting issues. Heather has conducted training for birth parent advocates, spoken to professional groups, and has appeared on television and radio to discuss the multiple aspects of adoption. She has provided one-on-one support to women and hopeful adoptive parents working through adoption decisions.
Since 2002, she has been helping pregnant women and others in crisis to learn more about adoption. Heather also trains and speaks nationwide to pregnancy clinics to effectively meet the needs of women who want to explore adoption for their child. Today, she continues to address the concerns women have about adoption and supports the needs of women who choose adoption for their child.
As a published author of the book Called to Adoption, Featherston loves to see God’s hand at work every day as she helps children and families come together through adoption.
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