What is Open Adoption ?
Open adoption has become a common term these days in the adoption community, and it seems as if most birth parents and adoptive families strive for this kind of open door adoption process. But what is open adoption exactly?To understand the concept, we have to understand the way things used to be when adoptions were closed and quite different from today. At that time, biological parents and adoptive parents had almost no contact during the pregnancy or after the baby was born. Back then, a birth mother played no role in selecting the family who would adopt her child. The adoption agency matched the baby with no input from the birth mother. In the mid 1970’s, the trend towards open adoptions began when studies showed it was better for the children involved and by the mid nineties, some agencies, including A Baby Step Adoption, were accepting open adoption as the norm.
Sometimes, open adoption facts become muddled through misuse of the term. An open adoption is when the biological and adoptive families have access to varying degrees of each other’s personal information and are able to communicate with each other during the pregnancy and after the baby is born. In this scenario, the birth parents choose the adoptive family as much as the family chooses them and their child. In fact, the birth parents can look at several families’ profiles, even their health history, to determine who would be the best fit for them. From that point, there is often a face-to-face meeting set up between the two parties, and an ongoing relationship develops.
The adoptive parents still maintain the rights as the legal parents however, if both agree, there can be contact in some form. Many of our birth mothers and adoptive families have chosen open adoption with great success. One of our recent adoptive families received regular texts from the birth mother they were matched with during her pregnancy and attended all of her ultrasounds. Today, they communicate with photos and updates sent by the adoptive family to the biological parents about twice a year. Some families establish a private Facebook page for sharing photos. Other families plan regular visits between birth parents and the adoptive families. A new law in Pennsylvania supports post adoption contact agreements. These open adoption agreements encourage open adoptions and extend the benefits of open adoption to more biological relatives such as grandparents or siblings. An open relationship happens more often than not with our families. We at A Baby Step Adoption believe firmly in the choice of an open adoption and offer the option to our clients. We can help you every step of the way!
Sometimes, open adoption facts become muddled through misuse of the term. An open adoption is when the biological and adoptive families have access to varying degrees of each other’s personal information and are able to communicate with each other during the pregnancy and after the baby is born. In this scenario, the birth parents choose the adoptive family as much as the family chooses them and their child. In fact, the birth parents can look at several families’ profiles, even their health history, to determine who would be the best fit for them. From that point, there is often a face-to-face meeting set up between the two parties, and an ongoing relationship develops.
The adoptive parents still maintain the rights as the legal parents however, if both agree, there can be contact in some form. Many of our birth mothers and adoptive families have chosen open adoption with great success. One of our recent adoptive families received regular texts from the birth mother they were matched with during her pregnancy and attended all of her ultrasounds. Today, they communicate with photos and updates sent by the adoptive family to the biological parents about twice a year. Some families establish a private Facebook page for sharing photos. Other families plan regular visits between birth parents and the adoptive families. A new law in Pennsylvania supports post adoption contact agreements. These open adoption agreements encourage open adoptions and extend the benefits of open adoption to more biological relatives such as grandparents or siblings. An open relationship happens more often than not with our families. We at A Baby Step Adoption believe firmly in the choice of an open adoption and offer the option to our clients. We can help you every step of the way!
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