Creating an Adoption Plan as a Birth Mother
Finding out you’re pregnant can be the most exciting news you will ever receive. One the other hand, this news can be unexpected and change the trajectory of your life. An unwanted pregnancy can be a scary situation to find yourself in. However, you are not alone, and you have options.
One of the choices that you have to make when you find out you’re pregnant is if you want to terminate the pregnancy, keep your baby, or place him or her for adoption. Adoption is an option that benefits you as the birth mother, as well as the adoptive family. It is one of the most viable options, even though starting the adoption process may seem challenging. Adoption Choices of Colorado knows the struggle that you are going through and wants to help you as best as we can. One of these ways is by assisting you with creating an adoption plan as a birth mother.
The Importance of Creating an Adoption Plan as a Birth Mother
You may be asking yourself, Why do I need a plan? Can’t I just go for it? The technical answer is yes! You can figure it out as you go. However, the process of adoption can be an overwhelming one. Knowing what your priorities, needs and wants are is an important aspect to have organized before presenting it to other people. Having a clear idea of what is important to you will allow you to better express those needs to other people. Let’s get started making your plan!
Step One: Prioritizing Yourself
When it comes to creating an adoption plan as a birth mother, you need to prioritize yourself. One way to do this is to sit down and establish your why. In other words, why is adoption the best choice for you and your baby?
Adoption can be a scary process, but knowing and understanding why you are doing it can be found out by organizing your thoughts and reasoning with yourself. We want to help you as best as we can, but the ultimate choice and reasons reside in you. No one can, or should, decide what is best of you and your future. Think about the impact adoption will have on your future and your child. Go from there.
Step Two: Researching and Selecting Your Adoption Agency
Researching and choosing an adoption agency are some of the first steps in creating an adoption plan as a birth mother. Even though the search might take a while, choosing an adoption agency can help you navigate the more challenging aspects of your adoption journey. For instance, an adoption agency can provide assistance with legal counsel, education about the process itself and any and all necessary services along the way. Because each agency varies slightly in how they operate, it’s important to do your research ahead of time to better determine which agency is the best fit for you. Part of this is knowing what you need or want from them, and becoming familiar with your state’s laws about adoption as well.
Step Four: Picking a Type of Adoption
An important part of the adoption process is understanding the different types of adoption that you can choose from. The type of adoption can become very important later if you want to have contact with your child. If this is important to you, you’ll want to find an agency that offers you the option to choose. There are three types of adoption to choose from: closed, semi-open and open. Here at Adoption Choices of Colorado, we encourage open adoption. Ultimately, this is your choice to make and we respect your desires and needs. After you choose an adoption agency, your counselor can help walk you through your options and the benefits and drawbacks of each.
Step Three: Choosing What You Want in an Adoptive Family
Knowing what type of adoptive family that you want your child to grow up in can be difficult to decide and understand. How do you know who is the right fit? Will the adoptive parents have the morals and values that you want your child to grow up with? These are all questions that can undoubtedly swirl through your mind. A good step is to develop questions to ask prospective adoptive parents to see if they might be the right fit for your child.
Step Four: Deciding on the Birth
After choosing your family, another big step is deciding what your birthing experience will look like. Would you like the adoptive parents to be in the delivery room? Who will be there to support you? How much contact do you want with your baby? These are all important questions to ask yourself. Creating an adoption plan as a birth mother has a lot of steps and factors involved. Answering these questions beforehand and having an idea of what you want can allow the process to flow smoothly.
Implementing Your Adoption Plan
Now that you have created your plan, it is important to implement what you have written down. There is always room for change, as long as you are the one initiating that change. Make sure you are prioritizing your desires, and not letting others pressure you into doing things that you don’t want to do. You will get through these struggles and challenges. Just take it one step at a time.
If you are interested in learning more about your gestational surrogacy options, contact Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Colorado by email, phone, or text: Email Us, Text us: 720-371-1099, Call us: 303-670-4673 (HOPE). If you are hoping to adopt, please contact us here.
Stephanie joined the Adoption Choices family in 2014 as the Child Placement Supervisor. Her love for adoption began in first grade when she made friends with twins adopted from Vietnam. Her heart grew strong over the years for adopted children and ultimately led her to graduate school where she continued her focus to her dream of working in the adoption field. Stephanie earned a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Denver in 2001. Over the past 15 years, Stephanie has worked as a pregnancy counselor and as an adoptive parent counselor for foster care, international adoption and domestic adoption, writing hundreds of home studies for families, and helping build their forever families. Stephanie is married and has three boys ages 12, 9, and 5. Together with her family she enjoys riding bike, playing games, watching her three sons compete in their various sporting and musical activities and go on vacations.
Christy Ikeler, is our Executive Director and Birth Parent Director. Christy has been with Adoption Choices Team for 18 years, since opening the doors in 2002! Christy has a true passion for what she does and her true love is working with and helping each birth parent. Whether she is up all night on the phone talking with them, taking them to doctors appointments, out for their favorite treat, providing counseling or at the hospital during labor and delivery, Christy is very involved every step of the way. She has a contagious laugh and a spunky personality that our birth moms all can bond with and relate to. As an adoptive parent herself, adoption holds a very special place in her heart and she can relate on every level with both birth parents and adoptive parents. In her free time Christy loves spending time with her daughter, gardening, baking and taking vacations with her family. Christy is an excellent leader for our team at Adoption Choices and is truly one of a kind!! As Executive Director, Christy spends time with the staff, birth parents and adoptive families in order to ensure that the agency is running smoothly. She has placed a huge emphasis on community outreach and programs for birth parents. Christy loves the opportunity to lead the agency into a brighter future.
Ms. Mackenzie has built a successful counseling career over the past 20 years, supporting mothers and families, people of all ages and genders, students, community professionals and fellow clinicians. Liv values a diverse professional focus, including the entrepreneurial life of a sole proprietor, the evaluative process of certifying foster/adoptive homes, the insightful and mindful one-on-one one work with enthusiastic clients, and serving as an advocate for underserved populations. Liv is a Licensed Professional Counselor and holds a BA in Pre-Law and Economics from American University, an MA in Counseling from Adams University and a certificate in Human Resource Management from Villanova University. Away from work you will find Liv spending time in nature, biking to the farmer’s market and adventuring with her family.
Catherine A. Madsen, joined the Adoption Choices family as legal counsel in 2013. Catherine is responsible for providing legal guidance to the Agency, training and updating staff on developments in adoption law and legislation, and program development. Catherine
Virginia Frank is an adoption attorney accredited since 1991 with the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys. Ms. Frank is a leader in the field of private adoption and has completed over 4,000 adoptions in her career. Ms. Frank has a law degree from Oklahoma City University and a BA in both Political Science and Communications from the University of Oklahoma.
Cassidie has been with Adoption Choices since 2015, she has her bachelors in Interdisciplinary Affairs with concentrations in both Sociology and Business Management. Cassidie has additional training in Victim Advocacy, foster care and has been working in women’s services for over 10 years. Cassidie has always had a heart for adoption and it was her career dream to work in adoption. She started off doing volunteer work for advocacy programs, adoption organizations and worked in High Risk Maternal Fetal Medicine through the University of Colorado Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Colorado. Cassidie is also blessed to have personally experienced an adoption of her own in 2012, completing her family of five! Cassidie loves what she does as a case worker from initial phone calls, meetings, doctor appointments, interaction with the adoptive families to delivery and counseling. Cassidie has a passion for those in need and strives to help make a difference in the lives of the people she meets. She is a firm believer in being kind, compassionate and open minded in all situations. “Unless you’ve walked in their shoes, there’s no place for judgment. A kind word or compliment can go a long way!” The bittersweet moments in adoption reminds Cassidie each and every time, why she loves what she does!