Hospital Adoption: What Happens at the Hospital if I Give My Baby up for Adoption in Colorado?
By Carl Roth
Having a plan means everything in response to an unplanned pregnancy. Your consideration of private adoption in Colorado is a blessing, but we realize there is no shortage of uncertainties. You may be looking ahead to delivery day, wondering how the hospital stay plays out when adoption is imminent. But most importantly, you want to know that your baby will be safe and cared for. Adoption Choices of Colorado recognizes birth mothers’ desire for clarity, and we can provide answers every step of the way. Every birth mother’s delivery experience will differ based on the choices they make during the adoption process. However, once the day comes, your plan will come to fruition, and your only concern will be finally giving birth. If you decide to place your baby up for adoption, communicating clearly with your adoption specialist helps alleviate troublesome anxiety.
All of your hopes for a successful and satisfying adoption experience can be realized with the right agency beside you. Both you and your baby deserve the best-personalized adoption care available. We at Adoption Choices of Colorado offer extensive assistance at every stage of the adoption process, including post-placement counseling. When you begin the adoption journey with us, you can focus more on your well-being during this challenging time. Your hospital stay is one of many CO Adoption components we manage according to your preferences.
If you need adoption help now, please call or text us at 303-670-4673 (HOPE) or visit us at Adoption Choices of Colorado.
Your Adoption Hospital Plans and Delivery Room Preparations
Your hospital plan determines how your hospital stay will play out in an adoption scenario. This plan is a significant portion of your overall adoption plan, and your adoption professional can walk you through it. Like any other birth, you’ll know exactly which hospital to arrive at and which doctor/midwife will deliver your baby. However, there are several key determinations that birth mothers need to make before delivery day. One is who you want to be present with during the delivery of your child.
Some birth mothers want the birth father or close companions at the time of birth to provide support. Others would prefer to be alone during the intensely personal struggle of giving birth. Be prepared for the adoptive parents to express a desire to be present during the birth. In this instance, you’ll need to decide whether or not you’re comfortable with them being there. There is no right or wrong answer here, only what you feel is appropriate for you.
It may be best to listen to your heart when choosing who you do or don’t want in your delivery room. You should feel no obligation to allow someone’s presence against your reluctance. The same can be said for deciding if you’d like to have visitors during your hospital stay. In-person support from your friends and family may or may not appeal to you in your most vulnerable state. You needn’t worry about offending anyone by refusing visitation; the delivery room is a personal domain for your labor. Countless more options are available to customize your delivery experience. Just speak with your Adoption Choices of Colorado specialist. For more information on options for medical care, living expenses, housing & transport, and emotional support, click here.
Post-Birth Decisions
Your hospital plan does not end once your child is officially brought into the world. Adoption presents a few unique post-birth circumstances for birth mothers to consider during the planning process. Perhaps most significant is how much time you want to spend alone with your newborn. The weight of your adoption decision may become most palpable during these intimate moments. Some birth mothers wish no time alone with their child to avoid becoming attached and reversing their decision. Attachment to your child is a maternal instinct, and you will experience grief one way or the other.
Spending time alone with your baby before custody is transferred could be the proper way for you to begin grieving. There’s no easy method to predict your mindset on delivery day, but consider how you might react in an overwhelmed state. Spending a few precious moments with your child alone could provide invaluable finality for your adoption journey. Carefully self-examine your emotions to determine if you’ll need this time for closure post-birth. If you’re still unsure, an Adoption Choices of Colorado counselor can provide helpful insight from experience.
More technically, your child will need to be named at the hospital for legal reasons. Though the adoptive family may decide to change your baby’s name after gaining custody, the decision is still yours. Keep in mind the likelihood of the name being changed if you place personal significance on its selection. For example, if you were in contact with the adoptive family beforehand, they might have suggested a name for you to pick. Whether you accept their naming preference or not is completely up to you. Alternatively, if you don’t want to name your baby, your adoption counselor can choose a name on your behalf.
Signing for the Consent of Adoption in Colorado
Colorado adoption laws stipulate five business days before your adoption agency can submit the necessary legal paperwork. If the birth father is known, a judge can confirm the transfer of parental rights within seven days. Once the order is signed, you will no longer have the legal right to reverse your adoption decision. Though your Colorado adoption agency will hold custody for six months, your child will live with the adoptive family. After those six months and multiple inspections from an agency representative, the adoptive family will officially gain legal custody.
All this being said, legal proceedings are not issues to be concerned with during your hospital visit. This will be an affecting time that you should absorb fully; leave no feeling unappraised. Adoption Choices of Colorado can handle the legislative end of things while you focus on delivering your baby.
Charting Your Path to Private Adoption in Colorado
Time is of the essence when it comes to fulfilling your hopes for an ideal adoption outcome. An unplanned pregnancy may be cause for anxiety, but the road to adoption is far from lonely. A family is eager to devote themselves to your child’s care, and Adoption Choices of Colorado streamlines the intimidating aspects of CO Adoption. With a tailored plan in place, we’ll handle any complicated legal steps according to your wishes. The more answers you receive, the more confidence you’ll attain as you bravely proceed toward finding your child’s suitable destination.
If you are facing an unplanned pregnancy and want to learn more about your adoption options, contact Adoption 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!