Giving baby up for adoption in Kansas is a very difficult decision to make. There are many factors that go into such a decision, but once it’s made, the outcome can be truly miraculous. Giving a baby up for adoption is a brave and selfless act.
An adoption professional can help you through the adoption process from the beginning to finalization. The following article outlines the general steps you can expect from putting a newborn up for adoption in Kansas.
You Are Not “Giving Up” by “Giving Your Baby Up” for Adoption in Kansas
The phrase “giving my baby up for adoption” is not one that most in the adoption community is a fan of. However, the stigma surrounding adoption makes it common day language. “Giving up” implies that you are releasing something from your care and your mind and moving on. This is absolutely not the case for birth mothers who choose to place baby for adoption. The reason you see the phrasing in this article is because the misconception needs to be addressed. It is preferable to say “I choose adoption for my baby.” The reason birth mothers make this voluntary decision in the first place is out of love, and it is an act of self-sacrifice.
How to Give Baby Up for Adoption in Kansas
The typical process for putting your baby up for adoption includes making the initial decision, creating an adoption plan, choosing an adoptive family, preparing for placement, and post-placement life considerations. These five steps have Kansas-specific aspects to them, as they do for every state. Read on to learn about the five steps of placing baby for adoption in Kansas.
- Make the adoption decision.The first step in placing a baby for adoption in Kansas to make the adoption decision. There are great resources available to prospective birth mothers like this website, a 24/7 hotline at 1-800-ADOPTION, pregnancy counselors, and adoption professionals. An adoption professional, whether it be a local agency or a national agency, can educate you on adoption and help you make the adoption decision. It’s also important to consider what you want for you and for your baby. Placing your baby for adoption is a huge decision to make, but you will find peace about it if it is the right decision.
- Create an adoption plan.An adoption plan is a prospective birth mother’s way of staying in control of her adoption decision. Giving up a baby for adoption in Kansas is no simple task, and birth mothers retain all legal rights to parent until signing the legal adoption paperwork. An adoption plan in Kansas will include a prospective birth mother’s preference when it comes to placing baby for adoption. This includes the type of relationship she wants to have with her child after placement, the type of adoptive family she wants to find, and her hospital plan.
- Choose an adoptive family.When it comes to finding the adoptive family for your baby, your adoption professional will present you with prospective adoptive family profiles. These profiles will include pictures of the families, demographic information, and personality likes and dislikes. They are written by the adoptive families looking for a baby, and will have a tone to them that should resonate with what you are looking for. After meeting your chosen adoptive parents, you will continue to get to know them and begin to develop a relationship with them before adoption finalization. You may already know a prospective adoptive family in Kansas, but if not, seek out an adoption professional to help you.
- Prepare for placement.Putting a newborn up for adoption means that while you are pregnant, you will have made your adoption decision and found a prospective adoptive family to place your baby with. Creating a hospital plan is crucial as it will outline your expectations for delivery including when you place the baby with the adoptive family. Keep in mind that in Kansas, a newborn must be at least 12 hours old before a birth mother can consent to place her baby for adoption. Consenting to the adoption means the birth mother voluntarily and legally signs away her parental rights so that the adoptive family can take them over. After giving consent, a birth mother cannot change her mind. In Kansas, consent is irrevocable unless it is proven that the consent was not given voluntarily — so it’s very important that a prospective birth mother is certain of her adoption decision before signing.
- Adjust to life after adoption.Life after adoption is really where your healing process will begin as a birth mother. You will have ups and downs, good days and bad days, but over time, life will become easier and grief will subside. Your adoption professional has already worked with you to come up with a post-placement agreement, so you know what to expect as far as having a relationship with your child after placement. It takes a period of adjustment, but after placement, you can re-evaluate your goals and your life. You can start living for yourself, knowing that you were bold enough to make an adoption decision and become a birth mother.
If you are considering putting your baby up for adoption in Kansas, please complete a contact form so that an adoption professional can reach out to you to learn if they can meet any or all of your adoption needs. Remember that you are not alone as a prospective birth mother, and you wouldn’t be alone moving forward as a birth mother. There are many resources available to you throughout the Kansas adoption process.