Semi-Open Adoption Pros and Cons in Colorado
You’ve probably had many times in your life where you’ve felt stuck between two choices. It might have been as simple as deciding between fruit or fries to go with your meal at a restaurant, or it may have been considerably more complex. When it comes to the different types of adoption that you can settle on during the adoption process, Adoption Choices of Colorado is happy to inform you that there is a clear middle-ground option that may just be right for you. Sandwiched quite comfortably between closed adoption and open adoption is the very interesting choice of semi-open adoption.
If you are experiencing an unplanned pregnancy and need adoption help, we are here for you. Here are some important semi-open adoption pros and cons to keep in mind as you’re considering what type of adoption would be right for you and your child.
How Should I Take My First Steps Toward Understanding Semi-Open Adoption?
In case you aren’t as familiar with this type of adoption, semi-open adoption is structured around communication between you and your child’s adoptive family through the help of a mediator. In this way, it is not as walled off as closed adoption or as direct in contact as open adoption. The adoption agency is usually the third party that helps to facilitate discussions. Through Adoption Choices of Colorado, we use a digital communication platform called ChildConnect that is designed specifically for semi-open adoption. Both you and your child’s adoptive parents can contribute to beneficial engagements on the service.
What are Some Pros of Semi-Open Adoption That I Should be Aware of?
First of all, there’s no shame in getting an outside look at things, especially since it can be stressful for a birth mother to connect with a new adoptive family or for a new adoptive family to connect with a birth mother. Not having to navigate those colliding worlds can be incredibly helpful. In this way, you could consider having a mediator a pro.
Another benefit is that you still get to be in contact with your child, which may be really important to you. You can see them grow up and check in on them pretty regularly. While there are numerous good things that come from a semi-open adoption, one final pro is that you would really be picking a choice that shares all of the best aspects of both open and closed adoptions — essentially, it is the happy middle ground or a great compromise.
Just to recap, some great pros of semi-open adoption, among others, include:
- having a mediator to help navigate new connections
- being able to see your child’s progress and get to know them pretty regularly
- having both privacy and openness from an adoption type that tries to compromise
What are Some Cons of Semi-Open Adoption That I Should be Aware of?
Strangely, depending on where you are in your life and what you wish to achieve by the end of the adoption process, the pros listed above might actually be cons for you. If you wish to see your child more freely, having a mediator can potentially feel like a bit of a road block. You might wish that you had just chosen open adoption instead. If you really feel like both you and your child should move on, however, then full openness or even semi-openness might not be your best choice. It might not be good for your mental health to see your child on a regular basis or at all. Having a semi-open adoption that is based on compromises might frustrate you if you are the type who wants to make a solid decision one way or the other.
Though there could be other potential cons, here is a summary of the ones listed:
- having a mediator might make engaging with your child feel like a difficult firewall
- If you really want to move on from your child’s life, semi-open adoption leaves a door ajar to seem them that you might not want to have
- you might regret compromising instead of picking a solid either/or adoption type
What Type of Adoption Should I Choose?
Unfortunately, we cannot decide for you. However, we can take notes from you and help you organize your thoughts after you have considered a bunch of important semi-open adoption pros and cons. Ultimately, although you may come to Adoption Choices of Colorado for our expertise and assistance, we work for you during the adoption process. It is all about your choices. So, don’t be afraid to take the time to weigh your options and run your ideas by us. We are here to help.
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: Nathan Dyer is a university student majoring in Communication Arts with a radio/TV/film focus. He enjoys writing professionally and dealing with hands-on problems in real-world scenarios. Among his hobbies is hiking, which always encourages him to explore new places. He looks forward to crafting written materials in the future that serve to help people from all walks of life.