Important Questions to Ask before Placing Your Baby for Adoption: For Birth Mothers Experiencing an Unplanned Pregnancy

An unplanned pregnancy can bring up a lot of unexpected questions for you as an expecting birth mother, especially if you have considered all three options: parent your child, terminate your pregnancy, or choose adoption. If you are still weighing the pros and cons, placing your baby for adoption,, here are some important questions to ask before placing your baby for adoption.

Where do I begin?  

That’s a great question! You’ll want to do careful research and make sure that you understand all that adoption involves. It is not a decision to be taken lightly. However, you don’t need to go through the adoption journey alone. Adoption Choices of Kansas and Missouri is here to help! When you contact our agency, we will connect you with one of our Birth Parent Counselors, who will discuss all your options in detail and help you make the best decision for you.

If you determine that adoption is the right choice for you and your baby, your adoption caseworker will answer all your questions, address your concerns and help you develop an adoption plan — all the while making sure you receive the respect and care that you deserve.

What does adoption cost?

Your adoption journey will not cost you anything! Placing your baby for adoption is free of charge, as is filling out an application and speaking to our counselors and caseworkers. Also, depending on your situation, Adoption Choices of Kansas and Missouri can offer financial assistance with medical bills, legal services, temporary housing, and court-approved living expenses.

How will I know if the adoptive parents are safe?

Our facility pre-screens our adoption families and makes sure that they have taken the right steps to be considered. They are also required to complete a thorough home study, along with a background check that assesses any risk of criminal activity or child abuse. All of our waiting adoptive parents are well-vetted and ready to grow their family through adoption. As you and your baby’s health and safety are our top priority, we would never place your child in a family who was not going to give him or her their best chance at life.

To further ensure that your child’s adoptive parents are the best fit for both of you, you will get to look over profile photo books and select a couple or individual yourself. Your adoption caseworker will walk through this process with you, and help you narrow down any criteria you have for your child and the life you’d like them to live. So, whether you envision him or her growing up in the city, suburbs or country, your caseworker will do their best to present profiles that fit within the family dynamic and lifestyle that you want for your child.

Can I stay in contact with my child after the adoption process?

This largely depends on what level of openness you choose in your adoption plan. There are three options: open, semi-open, and closed. Your adoption caseworker can explain the pros and cons of each, and help you determine the best decision for you.

If you choose either a semi-open or an open adoption plan, then yes — you will be able to have contact with your child and their adoptive parents after the adoption has been finalized. In a semi-open adoption, this can be completed through an online, confidential and secure portal called Childconnect. This will allow you and the adoptive parents to exchange letters, updates, and photos with each other.

With open adoption, you can maintain contact through virtual means such as FaceTime, ZOOM, phone, email, or text. Or, if the adoptive parents agree to it, and your child is comfortable with it as well, you may be able to visit in person. Visiting your child in person and their adoptive family establishes a strong and healthy relationship with them and guarantees that your adoption journey will run more smoothly.

Will my child’s adoptive family love him or her like their biological child?

Yes! Without a doubt! When hopeful adoptive parents struggle to build their family biologically,  they choose to open their hearts to a child who they can love as their own. Even if your child may have physical, emotional, or mental issues growing up, their adoptive parents will give them all the love, care, and support they have to offer.

To the soon-to-be adoptive parents, they are finally getting the family they’ve hoped, dreamed and prayed for. By selecting them to raise your child, you are helping them fulfill this.  Your child’s adoptive parents will be grateful to you for giving them the gift of parenthood.

What if my child asks about me later?

When you place your child for adoption, you’ll need to be prepared to answer your child’s questions about their adoption when they are older. To help them understand your reasons and motivations for doing so. Your child may need some time to process the information you give, and that’s completely natural!

Many of the questions your child asks may bring up a lot of emotions and memories, which you’ll also need to prepare for as best as you can. However, being honest with your child — no matter how painful their questions –will help them better understand why you chose adoption, and deepen their trust in you.

Important Questions to Ask before Placing Your Baby for Adoption

Adoption is a complex and emotional decision, but it is also one of the most rewarding ones you can make. If you are experiencing an unplanned pregnancy and are thinking about placing your baby for adoption, know that you are not alone. We are here to support you every step of the way.

Remember — you are doing this because you love your child and want the best for them. Also, no matter what — you will always be their birth mother.

Adoption Choices of Kansas and Missouri serves birth parents statewide and beyond, please call us or text us to learn more! Call us toll free at 877-903-4488 or, in Missouri call or text us at 1-816-527-9800

Meet the Author: Samara Wiley is a published author of poetry, essays, and an environmental children’s storybook called, Waiting for the Water Fairy. She graduated from Benedictine University in 2018 with a double Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and French.She has been published in three small poetry anthologies one was called Talented.

Her other writing accomplishments include: winning a high school poetry competition and $2500 for her high school, having two out of her five novels be considered for publication and writing movie critic reviews for her university’s newsletter.

Although she has Cerebral Palsy and has had a turbulent childhood, Samara puts these small specs of herself into her writing to personally connect with her audience. She prides herself on pushing the boundaries in her writing and in her personal life with everything she does. Samara writes with her heart and a voice of compassion, and loves to pull from her top passions in life.

She currently lives in Yorkville, Illinois with her mom and two sisters.