If you are experiencing an unplanned pregnancy in Missoula, Montana, you might be curious about what kind of resources are available in your region and what steps you would take during the process of “giving up” your baby for adoption. Still, you might be contemplating other unplanned pregnancy options.

Wherever you find yourself in your decision, your next best step is to contact an adoption professional. If you are still considering your options, they will connect you with an unplanned pregnancy counselor. They will offer you objective information about your choices and extend the support to make the decision that is right for you. If you are sure that adoption is right for you, you will be matched with an adoption specialist who will get you started.

If you are ready to begin working with a professional at an adoption agency in Missoula, contact a professional today.

How to Give Your Baby Up for Adoption in Missoula [The Adoption Process]

Maybe you are curious about how to place my baby for adoption in Missoula. Unless you have been through the adoption process before or supported someone who has, you likely have questions that are important for you to answer before you take your next steps.

Before anything else, you will want to choose an adoption agency and contact a professional who can help you navigate these 6 basic steps:

1. Decide that adoption is right for you.

Choosing adoption is much easier when you have a support system – including an adoption professional – to help you to evaluate your circumstances, reflect on your hopes and dreams, and learn about your unplanned pregnancy options.

There are many benefits of “giving up” your baby for adoption in Missoula:

• You are placed at the center of the adoption process.
• You get to choose the family who will adopt your child.
• You can maintain an ongoing, loving relationship with your baby.
• Create an adoption plan.

When you choose Missoula adoption, you will not face the next steps alone. You will work closely with an adoption specialist from your adoption agency. Your first task – to write an adoption plan – will be a joint effort, and the main focus will be what you need throughout your adoption journey. An adoption plan is a sort of blueprint for your adoption that outlines your preferences during each step of the adoption process.

Some components of an adoption plan are:

• A description of the adoptive family you want for your child
• Communication preferences with adoptive parents
• Your hospital plan that describes your ideal delivery and post-birth interactions
• Your choice of post-adoption agreement:
• open
•  semi-open
• or closed

• Select the perfect family for your child.

For many women, this choice is at the heart of the entire Missoula adoption process. In fact, it is probably the single most influential decision that you will make for your child. This is your choice to make, and you will be given the time you need to make it.

Here’s how it will work:

• Your adoption specialist will ask you questions to create a description of the kind of family you want for your baby. This description will become a part of your adoption plan.
• Your adoption specialist will give you a number of family profiles to review that were chosen with your needs in mind.
• You will take your time familiarizing yourself with the families and narrow your choices down based on your preferences.
• When a family sticks out to you, you will reach out to your Missoula adoption specialist to set up a phone conversation with them.
• You will either choose this family for your child or go back to family profiles.

• Begin communication with your chosen adoptive family.

Once you have found the perfect family for your baby, you will get to decide what your relationship will be with them. It is likely that the relationship you foster from the beginning will reflect the sort of post-adoptive agreement you want after placement. You get to oversee your Missoula adoption and determine the mode of communication and the frequency.

Ways that you can communicate with your chosen adoptive families are with:

• Pictures and letters
• Emails and text messages
• Phone calls and video calls
• In-person visits

• Give birth to your baby and sign adoption placement paperwork.

When your due date comes around and you are preparing to go to the hospital, you will have a hospital plan to communicate your needs to healthcare providers, adoption professionals, and your baby’s adoptive family. You will be in control during this time too, and if you want to change certain aspects of your plan, you still may.

The final paperwork for adoption in Missoula can be signed 72 hours after the birth of your child. This signature will signify your voluntary consent to the adoption.

• Continue a relationship with your child and their adoptive family.

The period of adjustment following the decision to “give up” your baby for adoption in Missoula can be challenging for some women. Even when a woman is secure in her decision, it is common for her to experience feelings of grief and loss.

One thing that can be comforting is knowing what to expect due to your post-adoption contact agreement (PACA). Your relationship with your child and their adoptive family – whether you chose an open or semi-open or closed adoption – will begin after placement. While the agreement can shift to accommodate needs as time goes on, you can rest assured that you have an agreement in place.

Missoula Adoption Agencies

The question of which adoption professional you will choose to guide you through these steps is an important one. It would be wise to contact a few private domestic adoption agencies in Missoula ask some basic questions about the services they provide. First, you will want to assess whether you are being given the empathy and respect you deserve.

Some other services that the best adoption agencies provide are:

• Unplanned pregnancy help
• Assistance while developing your adoption plan
• Adoption screening and matching services
• Legal counsel and representation
• Post-adoption support and counsel
• Financial assistance

After ensuring that they provide the most essential services, you may want to consider whether you want to work with a national and local private domestic adoption agencies in Missoula. With a national agency, you often are offered more choices and have more resources available to you.

For example, when you are choosing a family for your child with a national agency, it is common to be given dozens – or even hundreds of family profiles to choose from. You will only receive a handful of adoption opportunities with a local agency.

Some national agencies that serve the Missoula area are:

• American Adoptions
• Gladney Center for Adoption

Some local agencies and attorneys that serve the Missoula area are:

• Catholic Social Services of Montana
• Datsopoulos, MacDonald & Lind, PC

Finding an Adoptive Family in Missoula

You are in the driver’s seat when you choose to “give up” a baby for adoption in Missoula.

You choose the adoption agency in Missoula that is right for you.

You choose the details of your adoption plan.

And you choose the family who adopts your baby.

Whether you have a clear idea of what you want for your child or if you are just starting to think about what is important to you, you will have help from your adoption specialist to create a description of the adoptive family you would like for your baby.

Some common questions you get to consider are:

• Do I want my child to be raised with siblings? How many?
• Are there certain values that I want my child exposed to?
• Do I want my child to have the opportunity to participate in certain activities?
• What type of adoption agreement do I want?
• Do I want my child to be raised with a specific faith?
• Do I want my child raised in a rural area, an urban area, or a suburban area?

This decision will influence your child significantly, and it will also affect you if you are wanting to enter an open adoption. You will want to meet the family, ask them any questions you have, and make sure that you are comfortable before continuing the Missoula adoption process with them.

Getting Adoption Financial Assistance in Missoula

A common question that many prospective birth mothers ask adoption professionals is, “What are the financial benefits of “giving up” a baby for adoption in Missoula?” This is a valid question, and there are several ways that adoption is a good financial decision.  

First of all, choosing adoption in Missoula is completely free. Your other unplanned pregnancy choices cost money in most cases: abortion can cost a woman between $0-1500 and parenting can cost about $13,000 a year. Placing your baby for adoption costs you nothing.

Sometimes women assume that they can “get paid” for adoption. This is a misunderstanding. In reality, it is illegal for direct payments to be given to a birth mother in exchange for her consent to transfer her parental rights to another person or institution.

However, you can (and will) receive financial assistance as a birth mother in Missoula. The standard ways that birth mothers are supported financially are:

• Adoption agencies in Missoula provide all services to you for free.
• Pregnancy-related medical costs are paid for.
• Any legal costs of your adoption will be covered for you.

In addition, some women qualify for adoption financial assistance in the following categories:

• Rent and utilities
• Groceries
• Phone services
• Counseling
• Transportation
• Childcare

If you would like to know what adoption financial assistance you might qualify for, reach out to a Missoula adoption professional to find out.

What’s Next for Your Unplanned Pregnancy?

If you haven’t already, your first step toward adoption in Missoula is contacting an adoption professional at a private domestic adoption agency. When you get in touch with an adoption specialist, you will be in good hands. They will guide you through the adoption process and be a support for you all along the way.

Other ways that you can prepare for this transition is to:

• Build an adoption support system.
• Preview some waiting adoptive families.
• Learn more about the adoption process.

If you are still weighing your options between your unplanned pregnancy options, you will want to make sure that you are fully informed.

You can read more about abortion or parenting and speak to an unplanned pregnancy counselor about the pros and cons of each option.

They are trained to help women like you determine the right choice for them. No matter what you are leaning toward, you can always benefit from reaching out to an adoption professional. You will receive empathy, information, and the affirmation that you know what is best for your life.