Making an Adoption Hospital Plan as a Birth Mother: Important Tips for You to Know
Being a birth mother and choosing adoption in Colorado requires a remarkable show of strength. It demands a lot from you and is draining to your mental and physical being. It is important to remember that being a birth mother means taking care of yourself and the baby that you’re carrying. Part of that care means establishing your adoption hospital plan.
How to Make Your Hospital Plan as a Birth Mother
1. Hospital Tours
One of the essentials for establishing a hospital plan as a birth mother is a hospital tour. Giving birth and placing your child for adoption can be highly emotional and distressing. You want to make sure you’re delivering in a facility where you feel safe and comfortable. A hospital that is close in proximity, for instance, may feel more advantageous to you.
Every birth mother, regardless of socioeconomic status, deserves a clean, safe, hospital experience. It’s important for you to know that you and your baby will be taken care of. Your adoption caseworker will be more than willing to set you up with a hospital tour. This allows them the opportunity to assess the hospital and meet the staff who will be helping you through your hospital stay.
2. Prenatal Appointments/Preparing for Birth
Another part of establishing a hospital plan is ensuring that you’ve received regular check-ups and attended routine prenatal appointments. This is absolutely vital, because any preexisting conditions or compromises to your health that could threaten you and the baby need to be flagged immediately. That way, when it’s time to deliver, your doctor is fully aware of how to safely and effectively deliver your baby.
We also recommend that you check out our complimentary Lamaze/Birthing Education classes. We have a coach that is available through Adoption Choices of Colorado to do private classes. Learning how to manage the birthing process in a healthy and calming way can be essential for birth mothers.
3. Hospital Bills
If you are worried about large amounts of hospital bills accumulating, don’t be! Adoption Choices of Colorado is more than happy to help qualifying birth mothers with financial assistance. Additionally, any medical expenses that are not paid for by the state or private insurance will be covered by your child’s adoptive family. There is absolutely no reason to cut corners when it comes to your health and the health of the baby.
4. The Right Support
While your adoption caseworker is able to provide a lot of support and understanding to a birth mother, they are not a perfect substitute for a loved one. It is definitely something to examine. Who do you want standing beside you during this significant moment of your life? There is a possibility that it could be the birth father. If you and the birth father have a loving and supportive relationship, then, by all means, allow him to accompany you. However, if your relationship is compromised or non-existent, you may want to consider someone else accompanying you in the delivery room. Giving birth is an incredibly stressful experience that is both emotionally and physically taxing. Any additional sources of stress, from any figure in your life, could be detrimental to the health of you and your baby.
Some hospitals may have different policies when it comes to who can accompany you in the delivery room. Make sure you address this in your hospital tour and research the hospital’s regulations before making a final decision. This is especially significant during a global pandemic, as many hospital policies could have shifted for overall health reasons.
5. When it’s Time for Labor
Make sure you have a bag prepared with all the essentials for when it’s time to go to the hospital. These could include, but are not limited to: your birth plan and any necessary hospital paperwork, comfortable clothing, any necessary medications, shower shoes, and some form of entertainment, such as an iPad or a book. It’s important to consider what will reduce your anxiety levels when preparing your hospital bag, because that will absolutely help with your overall hospital experience — especially birth and delivery.
What Works For You?
The most important thing to consider when creating a hospital plan as a birth mother is what will work for you. Each birth mother has her own needs, and knows what will make her feel comfortable and safe. If you have a hospital plan, you are much more likely to have a successful delivery, and it can also ease the pain that placement can cause in the aftermath.
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.
Meet the Author: Katherine Burns is a journalism student at Loyola University Maryland with plans to pursue a career in the news and magazine industries. With over three years of experience writing for the Greyhound Newspaper at Loyola, Katherine specializes in Op-eds. However, she has recently branched out to cover a variety of topics, including education and sports journalism. She also has ample experience with travel blogging.
Katherine has conducted a variety of interviews in her time at Loyola and has displayed her stories through differing forms of media. In addition to her studies at Loyola, Katherine spent the fall of 2019 studying communications at the American University of Paris.To learn more about Katherine, be sure to check her out on social media.
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!