Placing A Newborn Baby Up For Adoption- Post Delivery
If you are pregnant and considering putting your baby up for adoption after they have been born, Adoption Choices of Missouri is ready to navigate the adoption process with you. Whatever reason has brought you to this decision, know that it is valid, and you are making a beautiful choice in your baby’s best interest, as well as your own. Placing a newborn baby for adoption is no easy task, however, if you choose Adoption Choices of Missouri as your Missouri adoption agency, we will help you to find the family who will love and care for your baby.
Adoption Post Birth
If you are choosing adoption after your baby is born, know that you are not alone. There is nothing wrong with your decision to place your baby up for adoption in Kansas City, Missouri, whether you choose to do so before or after they are born. Your choice could be due to anything from finances to support, to space, to time. You could even decide you do not want to parent your baby directly following your baby’s delivery. Know that all these decisions are valid. Raising a baby involves a fair amount of time, support, space, and money. You may not be in a position where you are able to financially support your baby, have the space to house them, or have the support of your friends, family, or the baby’s father. You may already be raising children and decide that another baby is more than you can handle. This may be more stress and anxiety than you need, or be wary of how your mental health has been affected as a parent. The difficulty of being a parent may be too much, especially if you are suffering from postpartum depression. If this is the case, ask your adoption agency caseworker for help, and they can connect you with a counselor at New Perspectives Therapeutic Services.
Our Adoption Agencies Near You
Upon choosing to place your baby up for adoption, the next step is to choose an agency to help you through the process. Your agency will assign you a caseworker who can help you to find an affiliated foster family to care for your baby while you look through family profiles of prospective adoptive families. You may otherwise continue to take care of your baby until you have chosen a prospective family for your baby. If extended family foster care is unavailable, you can also look into temporary or permanent familial adoption. This is where someone from your extended family can care for your baby until you choose a permanent adoptive family. If you choose permanent familial adoption, one of your family members could permanently adopt your baby.
Infant Safe Haven Laws
If you are afraid to go to a Missouri adoption agency yourself to place your baby up for adoption or do not wish to choose the adoptive family either, you could also turn to a Baby Safe Haven drop off-center. Infant Safe Haven laws, apply to any babies under 30 days old and must be turned into an infant Safe Haven location or provider, such as a staff member at a hospital, a firefighter on duty at a fire station. Another option is turning your baby over to an infant Safe Haven volunteer, such as through a church or adoption agency. You can be of any age and face no legal charges so long as your baby is relinquished to the proper Safe Haven authorities.
Placing A Newborn Baby Up For Adoption When You Are Raising Other Children
If you have other children in your household and change your mind about parenting your newest baby, you may need to think about how you want to explain to your other children why their newest sibling has not come home to live with them. They may not completely understand what is going on, but being honest with your children can help them to feel more included in what is going on. If you have chosen a type of adoption with some sort of contact and communication, your children may even have the opportunity to have a relationship with your youngest baby at some point later in the future. This may help them to feel more connected to your newest baby and less anxious about the situation. Of course, this depends on how much contact you wish to have with the baby in the future, which is why you should reflect on what type of adoption agreement you would like to have with your baby’s adoptive family.
Choosing An Adoptive Family For My Newborn Baby
If you decide to choose the family for your baby, think about what kind of family you want your baby to be raised by. What do you want to see in the family that may raise your baby? All families go through extensive background checks, interviews, and home studies. The family you choose may help you with any expenses you may have from your pregnancy and hospital bills as well.
Choosing to Place Your Newborn Baby for Adoption in MO
Reading all of this information may have set your head spinning, but know that Adoption Choices of Missouri is here to hold your hand and be by your side. We will find your child their forever home, and we will not abandon you after your child’s adoption is finalized. You are making an amazing sacrifice, and we will not abandon you even after the last paper is signed. Adoption Choices of Missouri sees your strength, and we will stand with you no matter what until you do not need us anymore.
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 816-527-9800
Meet the author: Carly is a recent graduate of Connecticut College with a dual degree in Psychology and Italian Studies. Graduating Cum Laude with honors in both Psychology and Italian departments, Carly has a background in gender-related research through the Connecticut College Psychology Department and Honors Theses Program. When not trying to figure out life or working, Carly is reading historical fiction novels or playing with her black cat, Isabelle.