Important Questions to Ask Yourself before Placing Your Baby for Adoption in Missouri

An unplanned pregnancy and choosing to place your baby for adoption can  be very stressful for birth mothers. The adoption journey, as a whole, can be as well. After all, there are so many moving pieces and decisions to be made before, after and during your adoption journey. When you consider all of this upfront, it’s all too easy to feel overwhelmed. 

But you are not alone! You have options. Whether your pregnancy was planned or unplanned, you have researched your options and are wanting to explore adoption deeper. Adoption Choices of Missouri is here for you! We want to put your mind at ease and provide all the information you need to help you make the best choice for you and your baby.

Here are five important questions to ask yourself before placing your baby for adoption.

• Am I Ready to Give Up My Pursuits?

For most birth mothers, timing is the biggest factor in why they put their babies up for adoption. Their job, college admission, or maybe even family connectivity could be at stake when first discovering they are pregnant. It’s important to know whether you are in the right situation to care for your child or not. 

What kind of care are you able to provide? What kind of child care do you feel you may not be able to provide that perhaps an adoptive family can? Your baby deserves every chance at happiness and in life. Not only your baby, but you as well.

Ask yourself, “Am I ready for a child?  Being honest and open with yourself will help provide you with that answer.

• How will This Change My Life?

Taking care of your baby can completely upend your daily routine or change your schedule that you are comfortable with. It is a full time, around the clock job. Caring for another human being takes patience and the stresses it comes with it can be heavy. For some expectant mothers, this can be too much to bear.

Your life might not have the allotted time needed to nurture a baby. You may want to move things aside, cancel something here, reschedule there. But that may not be enough. 

A baby can and will completely change your life. You must know whether you are prepared for that.

• Am I Ready for Motherhood? Now and for the Rest of My Life?

Being a mother does not stop when your child grows up. Being a mother does not stop when your child moves out. It’s a forever link and a forever bond. But with that bond comes responsibility. Children rely heavily on their parents from birth, and sometimes even into their adulthood. There is no ending point for motherhood.

Your baby will require you to meet their every need until one day they can provide those needs for themselves. Are you physically, mentally, emotionally and financially prepared to raise your child and give them the life they deserve?

• What Kind of Adoption Choice is Right for Me?

It’s important to determine just how you would like you and your baby’s future to look when choosing to place him or her for adoption. Ask yourself where you will see yourself in the coming years after your child is born. How will your possible situation shape your relationship with your baby? 

Will you be in a place where you can maintain a steady relationship with your baby? Do you want to be involved in their lives? If this is important to you, then an open adoption might be for you. If not, there are other options that any birth mother can choose from that best suits the circumstances she is in. The key is to know what you want and what is best for both you and your baby.

• What Happens if I Change my Mind?

One of the most common things for birth mothers to experience when they first put their babies up for adoption is symptoms of grief, sadness or regret. It can be a rollercoaster of emotions that run through you. You have every right to change your mind before the baby is born. However, when you relinquish your parental rights and the adoption process is finalized in court, there is no going back. So, it’s important for you to come to terms with your decision and get the support you need to help you through your adoption journey.

You will, of course, have good days where you are the happiest you have ever been. Then you might have some days where you may be at the lowest lows you never could have imagined. These waves of emotions are natural. But remember you are not alone. You are not the only woman who has ever had to face this and you won’t be the last.It’s all a part of the process. It will get better and you will get better along with it. Trust in Adoption Choices of Missouri. We will walk with you and provide everything you need to make things easier for you. 

Important Questions to Ask Yourself Before Placing Your Baby for Adoption

Even after these questions, there is one that is unquestionable in all this: your strength. You have the power to create families and futures that cannot be taken from you. There is no manual, no handbook, no surefire way of being a perfect parent; but, do not let that keep you from giving your baby the life he or she deserves.

Adoption Choices of Missouri serves birth parents statewide and beyond, please call us or text us to learn more! Call us toll free at 877-903-4488 or, in Missouri call or text us at 1-816-527-9800

Meet the Author: My name is Alexander Charles Cooper, I come from a family of four that originates from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I, along with my younger brother Greyson were born in North Carolina, three years after my parents had wed and moved to the state. Alexander shares his birthday with Maya Angelou, which he takes great pride in. 

Growing up, Alexander had the privilege of having both parents in his life and a stable upbringing in which he was surrounded by family and friends. He believes that much of his family foundation is built on faith which has given him a discipline and practice that has allowed him to discover and build his spiritual self. He is also interested in politics and worldly news that allows him to excel in American literature, philosophy/ethics, and higher learning. 

From that, his passion in writing bloomed and he found his true calling: “I wished to create and write for a living and know it will be what makes me happiest. My only wish is for me to bring about positive change for others both near and far and leave a lasting legacy that contributes to the overall wellbeing and joy of others.”