It’s a common question from women considering their unplanned pregnancy options: What is an open adoption in Connecticut?
Open adoption occurs when a birth mother continues to have direct communication with her child and his or her adoptive parents after adoption. There are so many options in an open adoption in Connecticut. Communication between the birth mother and adoptive family can come in the form of:
- letters
- phone calls
- emails
- visits
- and more
Open adoptions in CT also vary in the frequency of contact. Some birth parents and adoptive families text every month, while others exchange pictures and letters once a year. Open adoption is always an option for a woman considering adoption in Connecticut, and the details of her open adoption arrangement are always up to her.
Learn more about this option below or contact an adoption professional today for answers to your open adoption questions.
What is Open Adoption in Connecticut?
What does open adoption mean in Connecticut?
First, know this: There is no open adoption “definition.” This relationship will vary from adoption to adoption.
However, open adoption is generally described as a situation in which a prospective birth mother voluntarily places her baby for adoption with an adoptive family, and the parties involved agree on a level of communication after placement. The prospective birth mother and adoptive family will usually work with their adoption professional to create a communication plan before placement, so everyone involved is on the same page. This post-placement agreement will all be determined by the preferences of the prospective birth mother, as well as the relationship she develops with the adoptive family during her pregnancy.
As the child grows older, the birth mother or adoptive parents may want to change the type and frequency of contact, so it is important to remember that open adoptions can naturally grow and evolve over time. No two open adoptions area like, and there’s no single “right” way to handle this post-placement relationship.
It’s just about what is right for you.
What is Closed Adoption in Connecticut?
What if you’re not sure about contact with the adoptive family and your child after placement? You have a few more options, one of which is a closed adoption.
A closed adoption is essentially the opposite of an open adoption in Connecticut. In a closed adoption, there is very little to no contact between the birth mother and her child after placement, and the birth and adoptive parents may receive very limited information about each other. However, in some closed adoptions, the child may eventually decide to open adoption records or search for and contact his or her birth mother. In the age of the internet, social media and DNA testing services, truly closed adoptions in Connecticut and throughout the U.S. are becoming increasingly rare and more difficult to maintain.
Throughout much of history, however, closed adoptions were the norm. Society tended to believe that contact between the birth mother and child could be harmful and confusing, especially for the child. Closed adoption was the preferred option, but it had unintended consequences — it often left adopted children and birth parents with unanswered questions and, often, negative feelings about their adoption experience.
Today, the vast majority of adoptions in Connecticut and throughout the U.S. involve some level of openness. Research has shown this contact between the birth mother and birth child has continued benefits that outweigh the previous stereotypes regarding open adoptions.
What is Semi-Open Adoption in Connecticut?
On the scale of openness, semi-open adoptions fall somewhere between open and closed adoptions in Connecticut. In a semi-open adoption in Connecticut, personal information is typically kept confidential, and any post-adoption contact is handled by an adoption professional. The professional can mediate the relationship, providing the birth mother with pictures and updates of her child while maintaining her privacy. If a birth mother wants to remain anonymous but have some level of contact with her child, this can be done through a semi-open adoption in Connecticut.
Like a fully open adoption, a semi-open adoption is what you make of it. You can talk to your adoption professional for more information on how this relationship might work for you.
The Benefits of Open Adoption in Connecticut
There are so many benefits of choosing open adoption in Connecticut. Some of these include:
- The birth mother can maintain an important and meaningful relationship with her child and watch them grow up in a happy and healthy environment.
- The adoptive child will openly know his or her own story, which will help him or her develop a strong sense of identity and positive view of adoption.
- The adopted child will have double the love and double the family.
- The adoptive family can encourage their child to get to know where they came from and answer any questions they may have.
Before choosing a prospective adoptive family, a woman considering adoption will want to decide the level of openness she wants to have with her child after placement. An adoption professional can help you decide which option is best for you — open adoption, semi-open adoption or closed adoption — and then connect you with adoptive families who are looking for the same type of relationship with you.
Open adoption is an option for any woman considering adoption in Connecticut. To be connected to an adoption professional who can answer your questions about open adoptions, please fill out this contact form.
