Thinking About Adoption?
Are you thinking about adoption in 2025? It is important to learn as much as you can about the different types of adoptions and choose the best option for you.
What is Open Adoption?
Open adoption is the idea of an adoption triad, meaning that the birth parents, adoptive parents, and the child are able to exchange some level of contact after the placement of the child.
There are levels of Open Adoption – fully open adoption, semi-open adoption, and closed adoption. In a totally open adoption, all parties exchange some level of contact information and have contact with one another directly. Whether that means that the adoption triad occasionally messages or meets up a few times a year, it is up to the birth parent to decide what works best for them. In a semi-open adoption, contact happens through an intermediary (like an agency). This may include exchanging pictures, letters, and gifts, as well as a few visits a year. A closed adoption is when the birth parents, adoptive parents, and child have no contact after placement.
Advantages of Open Adoption
There are many researched benefits to adoptions with any level of openness. Open adoption is able to fully promote and support sensitivity to the feelings of all the parties involved. It is able to ease the feelings of loss for a birth parent and child. It also allows birth parents to plan for their child’s future. With the connection between an adoptee and their birth parent, adoptees are provided with their history and medical information. Therefore lessening their need to fantasize about their birth parents and where they came from. Open adoption promotes shared respect between birth parents and adoptive parents, in turn eliminating the secrecy and shame associated with adoption. Research has also shown that openness in adoption aids identity formation in adoptees and leads them to have more positive feelings about their adoption and birth parents.
Moving Past the Fears
It’s ok and completely normal to still have worries about open adoption even after understanding its benefits. The reality is that your child has two sets of parents whether or not you have openness. Open adoption has been proven to be beneficial to all parties involved, especially the adoptee. Open adoption can help answer an adoptee’s questions about their adoption as well as provide medical and family background information. It can also help foster a stronger sense of identity for the adoptee. At the end of the day, no child can have too many people that love them!
It is important to learn more about open adoption, in order to move past those fears. This will allow you to enter this adoption process that is built on a relationship of love and trust and wanting the best for you and your child. Working with an agency that provides social workers for every step in the process can be extremely helpful. During the process, you’d need to open up to your social worker to share feelings of concern about the process and adoption. The most crucial thing is to not make any open adoption promises to expecting and birth parents that you are not 100% committed to keeping.
Take the Next Step
If you want to learn more about open adoption and what steps you should take if you are interested in adopting, visit the Adoptions from the Heart website at https://afth.org/.
If you are thinking about adoption, take the next step of reaching out to an adoption agency. Set up a meeting with a social worker to learn more information. If you feel that open adoption is right for you, you are in for a very rewarding process.
