Giving My Baby Up For Adoption: What’s the Process?

by | Sep 6, 2024 | Birth Parent Blog

Black pregnant woman in her living room feeling tired and exhaustedWe often hear from women who are searching the internet for help with “What is the process for giving my baby up for adoption?” Whether you are struggling financially, not ready to become a mom yet, or want to provide your child with more than you can offer, adoption can be a positive, loving choice.
 
That’s why adoption isn’t actually “giving your child up,” but giving them a better life—a life with two parents and the security they want for their child. By choosing adoption over abortion, these women aren’t thinking about themselves. They’re thinking about their baby’s needs and choose adoption out of love for their child.
 

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Is Adoption Selfish?

Some people may try to tell you that placing your baby for adoption is a selfish decision. Actually, adoption is a loving and selfless decision, and a positive one, too. Your child can have all the opportunities you want for them growing up. And you’ll be able to go on to accomplish your own goals, such as getting a college degree.
 
Depending on her situation, choosing adoptive parents to provide for her baby in a way that she’s unable to is the best decision a birth mother can make for her child. She’s putting her child’s best interests before her own and setting her needs to the side.
 
Adoption doesn’t mean abandoning her child – it means truly being a mother. It’s a brave, strong, selfless, loving, and responsible decision when your baby needs it most.
 
If you end up choosing adoption, it doesn’t make you a “bad mom.” It makes you a great mom who’s giving her child a fresh start with two wonderful adoptive parents. It takes a strong and unselfish person to see that adoption is the best choice for their child!
 

The Adoption Process

While the decision to make an adoption plan for your baby can feel overwhelming, the actual adoption process doesn’t need to be. At Lifetime Adoption, we understand the stress and uncertainty of your choice. We are committed to supporting birth mothers throughout the entire adoption process. Your adoption specialist will offer you non-judgmental support and guidance every step of the way.
 
We want to take the mystery out of the adoption process by laying out each step. Find out more about how this process works, from the moment you discover you are pregnant all the way to maintaining a future relationship with your baby’s adoptive family.
 

Step #1: Learn About Adoption and Create a Plan

At Lifetime Adoption, you are in control of your adoption plan. You make the choices, including:

  • Your baby’s adoptive parents
  • The amount and type of contact you desire after the adoption
  • How things will go when you deliver
  • Whether you need help with expenses
  • If you need help with your educational or career goals
  • Who will be involved in your adoption plan

You might not be ready to make these decisions right now, and that’s fine! At Lifetime, we will help you as you make each decision when you’re ready. We’re here to tell you about all of your options.
 
As you think about your choices, you will get one-on-one help from your adoption specialist at Lifetime. She can connect you with counseling and peer support, as well as the financial and legal resources you may need.
 
You will be in contact with her as you create your adoption plan. You can choose a closed or open adoption plan based on your circumstances and hopes for the future. If you pursue an open adoption plan, your Adoption Specialist will help you find potential adoptive families that best fit the life you wish for your baby.
 

Step #2: Select the Perfect Adoptive Family

While there is no such thing as a perfect family, there is a perfect family out there for you! That family will look different for each birth mother.
 
Think about the values and lifestyle you want for your child. Do you want your child to grow up in a city or the countryside? Do you want them raised with a specific faith? Is it important that your child has siblings? You will feel more prepared to view hopeful adoptive family profiles when you know what you are looking for.
 
Every hopeful adoptive family with Lifetime Adoption has completed a background check and an adoption home study. This in-depth screening ensures that your baby will be safe with them and that they’re good people.
 
Browse the pictures, videos, and testimony in each adoption profile. Once you see a few adoptive families you’re interested in, let your Adoption Specialist know.
 

Browse Adoptive Families

 
Pregnant woman does a Google search for giving baby up for adoption process

Step #3: Get to Know the Adoptive Family

Before you make any decisions, you can have a pre-placement visit with the hopeful adoptive family. This conversation is your opportunity to get to know them, so ask plenty of questions
 
Once you decide on a family to be your perfect match, you will work together to design an open adoption agreement. How will you communicate after your baby is born? How do you want the adoptive family to share your child’s adoption story with them?
 
Many birth mothers also write a letter of love that the adoptive family will share with their child one day. With open adoption, this is just the beginning of your relationship with the adoptive family.
 

Step #4: Create a Hospital Plan

You are in the driver’s seat during the entire adoption process, and that includes your experience in the hospital as you deliver your baby. You decide who you want to be in the hospital with you, how much time you want to spend with your baby, and what role you want the adoptive family to take.
 
The adoptive parents you picked will travel to your city once you go into labor. They will arrive if you’d planned for them to be at the hospital when you deliver.
 
After you give birth, you can spend as much time with your baby as you wish. Remember, you are in charge of how things go at the hospital. If things change, remember that your Adoption Specialist is just a text or phone call away.
 

Step #5: Sign Adoption Papers

Typically, in the next day or two, you will meet with an attorney who will present you with the legal paperwork for the adoption. They will also share your rights and help you understand the process. Before completing the paperwork with you, the adoption attorney will ensure you are confident in your decision and that no one is pressuring you to place.
 
Your baby will go home from the hospital with the adoptive parents you have picked. You don’t have to care for your baby between the time you get discharged from this hospital and when you sign the paperwork. The adoptive couple will stay in your town and are available to meet up if you’d like to spend more time with your baby.
 
The “revocation period” is a waiting period before the courts legally finalize the adoption. Laws vary by state, but this timeline generally ranges from 72 hours to 30 days.
 
After the revocation period, there will be a court hearing where a judge will review whether the adoptive couple will be good parents. The judge will then grant parental rights to the adoptive couple.
 
Remember, when you have an open adoption plan, you are not saying goodbye forever to your baby. In addition, the adoption process does not mean you are giving up on your baby.
 

Step #6: Self-care and Healing

Plan for your physical recovery to take 6 to 12 weeks, depending on whether you have a C-section or gave birth vaginally.
 
Your emotional recovery has a more complicated timeline. Expect to feel conflicting emotions throughout the adoption process, but especially now.
 
Even if you are confident that adoption is the right choice, you still have a loss to grieve. Give yourself time and space to process your feelings.
Surround yourself with the people in your circle who will support you.
 
Consider joining a birth mother support group or connecting with a mentor. Your Adoption Specialist will remain available even after you place your baby for adoption, so reach out to her for counseling, support, and other resources.
 

Final Reminder if You’re Researching “Giving My Baby Up for Adoption”

You are not alone in this process. “Giving my baby up for adoption” is not giving up on your child. Lifetime Adoption has caring specialists available 24/7 to answer questions, listen to your situation, and help you make the best decisions for you and your baby. We are here no matter what you decide.

Get one-on-one adoption help and answers by
calling or texting Lifetime at 1-800-923-6784.

 

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Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on July 17, 2020, and has since been updated. 

Heather Featherston

Written by Heather Featherston

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.

Read more about Heather Featherston

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