Trying to navigate the process alone would be very challenging for you. As a birth mom, you need an advocate who is there for you during the entire process. The adoption agency will help you find and choose a family for your child, handle the legal paperwork, and provide you with counseling along the way. Many mothers find themselves feeling hopeless during this time in their lives and having a support system in place is very important. Also, if you have medical, financial, or other basic needs while you are pregnant, you will be able to get assistance with these things from your adoption agency.

Absolutely! As the birth mother, you will get to pick the family for your baby. You can set the parameters of the type of family you want. For example, if you want a traditional family with a mom and a dad who are married, you can specify that. If you want a family that already has children, you can narrow it down to those families. If you want a certain religion, race, ethnicity, or certain values, you can find families who fit exactly what you want for your child. You will get to meet them and ask them as many questions as you’d like so that you can decide with absolute certainty that this is the best and right choice for your baby.

By choosing to place your baby for adoption, your adoptive family will pay for the portion of medical expenses (not covered by private insurance or state funds) incurred by the pregnancy. The birth parents do not pay for the pregnancy or birth.

This is a personal preference, however now days, most domestic adoptions (60% to 70%) are open adoptions (which means the adoptive family knows who the birth mom is), and there is a degree of openness between the birth mom and the adoptive family. The remaining 30% to 40% are semi-open and closed adoptions.

This will be part of your birth plan that you design with your adoption agency. Each state has different lengths of time the mother can stay with the baby, but you can decide if you would like the baby to stay with you a while or go right to the adoptive parents.

This is personal preference, and you will get to have a say in this. You will receive counseling to help you decide what you want your life to look like after the baby is adopted. Your adoption agency will help you come up with a birth plan as well as an after-birth plan. With an open adoption, you would get to be in regular contact with your child, a semi-open adoption would allow for visits one to a few times per year, and a closed adoption would seal the adoption records.

This is your choice. If you want them to be present at the hospital when the baby is born, you can choose to have them there. If you want to meet them before the birth, you can do that as well. Many birth moms find that establishing a good rapport with the adoptive family helps to ease the birth mother’s anxiety about what is going to happen after the baby arrives. As the birth mom, you get to dictate what degree of openness you would like to have with the adoptive parents.

You may start the process of placing your baby for adoption, but the law requires you to make every effort possible to locate the baby’s father and have him consent to the adoption or terminate his parental rights.

Of course! DeColores Adoptions completely understands that the decision you are making to place your baby for adoption is not an easy one. We know that only 4% of women with unplanned pregnancies place their baby for adoption. It is not a decision we take lightly, and we applaud you for making the most SELF-LESS decision for your baby. You are giving your baby the gift of life, the chance at a great life, and a wonderful family the gift of a child to love. Our trained staff and adoption specialists will help you work through your pain and this is provided to all birth parents free of charge.

In most cases, the adoptive family arrives a couple of days before your due date and is at the hospital (or nearby) while you are in labor. If you would like them to be in the delivery room with you, they can be there. If you go into labor before your due date, they will be notified that you are in labor and they will make plans to get to the hospital as soon as possible. If this involves getting a flight, they will usually fly out that day or the next day if possible. After the baby is discharged from the hospital, the adoptive family will be able to take the baby to a nearby hotel where they will wait for ICPC clearance if they are from out of state. If they are local, they can take the baby home.