What is an Adoption Birth Plan?

By Blessing E. Ikhimokpa

You’ve found out you’re pregnant. This wasn’t the news you were expecting. Nor was it something you were excited about. At this point in your life, you didn’t plan on becoming a parent. So, you weigh your options. But get stuck on where to start when placing your newborn up for adoption, where Adoption Choices of Missouri comes into hand.

We help birth parents find plans that best suit them at our agency. We help them figure out the best program for them. While offering counselors that will guide them through an adoption process if needed. We know this is stressful for some, and we don’t want birth parents to feel that way. This is why our counselors will help take the load off.

What does an adoption plan look like in Missouri?

An adoption plan is a set of steps birth parents are welcome to take. It goes over:

What needs to be done?
If the birth parents decide adoption is for them.
The different adoption types.
If they’d like to be a part of their birth child’s life.
How much they’d like to be in their birth child’s life?
If they’d like to have a relationship with the adoptive parents.

What steps are needed to place a newborn up for adoption in Missouri?

With Adoption Choices of Missouri, we’ll go over the steps. But, first, you’ll need to talk to someone about your decisions. Talk to them and ask them questions you may have. At our agency, we have counselors that will be the ones you can talk to.

Second, you’ll have to decide what comes next for your birth child. You’ll go over the possibly adoptive parent profiles. Depending on your type of adoption choice. Both you and the adoptive parent will communicate with each other. Go over how much you’d like to be in the birth child’s life.

In the third step, you’ll go back to the first step and ask the counselor about the different adoption choices. They’ll tell you that you can pick from 3 adoption choices in Missouri: open, semi-open, and closed adoption. Before, you can decide which adoption plan you’d like. Next, you’ll have to go over the post-placement agreement. This talks about how much you’ll get to see your birth child. In Missouri, the birth parent can regain full custody. If they decide, they can provide for the child. But for this to happen, the birth parent (s) will have to petition in court after the post-placement agreement is done. Then, the birth parent can decide which adoption plan is right for them.

In the fourth step. Once you’ve gone over which adoption plan you want to pick. You’ll plan a hospital birth plan. Depending on the adoption plan, you can have the adoptive parents be there for the birth. In this step, you’ll go over:

What type of birth are you planning on having?
Would you rather have pain medicine or none?
Who do you want in the room with you?
Do you want to hold the birth child first?
Do you want the adoptive parents to hold the birth child first?

Finally, in the fifth step. After you’ve given birth and completed the adoption process, you’ll want to seek post-placement counseling. At our adoption agencies near you, you’ll have your counselor be the one you talk to. Your counselor will make sure you’re doing well. Make sure they’re available wherever you need to talk. Make sure you don’t feel alone.

What are the different adoption plans in Missouri?

In Missouri, open adoption is when you’ll have a relationship with your birth child and the adoptive parents. You’ll have their contact information, and they’ll have yours. You and the adoptive parents can schedule it whenever it’s convenient for you to be around the birth child. It’ll be like you’re a part of the family in this method.

Semi-open adoption is like an open adoption. But, instead of full communication between the birth parents and the adoptive parents. It’s semi, where either you or the adoptive parent wants to be hidden. It’s more about keeping their information hidden than having full communication like the open adoption method. In this method, you’ll still be able to have a relationship with the birth child. But it wouldn’t be as often as open adoption. Hence, the name is semi-open adoption.

Closed adoption is where there isn’t any communication from either side. This means you’ve decided you didn’t want to be involved in the adoption process, unlike the other methods, where communication with both the birth child and adoptive parents was an option. In this method, you’ve decided communication isn’t something you’re interested. If you decide to choose this method, you won’t be able to have a relationship with the birth child.

During this time, remember you don’t have to handle this alone. Having people you can rely on during this process is a good thing. We’re here to take it step-by-step with you. 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