When you choose adoption, you are making a selfless, loving and heroic decision. You are:

• Doing what is best for yourself.
• Giving your child a loving family.
• Helping other people realize their lifelong dreams of parenthood.

And that is beautiful.

But, how do you even go about finding those hopeful adoptive parents in the first place? We’re here to answer that question for you with this guide to finding an adoption match.

Remember that you can always contact us online to get free adoption information now. But, we have also put together this detailed guide that should help you with your adoption matching process. In this article, we explore self-matching and how you can tell if it’s the right choice for you or not.

Finding the Perfect Adoption Match [With the Help of an Adoption Agency]

For many women, the best way to find an adoption match is with the help of an adoption agency. These professionals can help you find the perfect adoption match, and this means that adoption is always an option.

As we mentioned earlier, adoption professionals connect you with other necessary services and help you complete your adoption from start to finish. In other words, you get to call all the shots while your adoption professional does all the heavy lifting. Prospective birth mothers like you are in 100% control of your adoption plan, and your adoption professional will be there to guide you every step of the way.

There are many benefits of working with an adoption agency for the adoption matching process. We’ll outline some of these below to help you determine whether working with an agency is right for you or not:

• Emotional support and guidance. As a prospective birth mother, you can receive free, 24/7 counseling to help you navigate the complex emotions of adoption. There’s no doubt that adoption can be a complicated journey, so getting some emotional support can help you throughout the process.
• Pre-screened adoptive families. When you work with a credible adoption agency, you can rest assured knowing that every adoptive family they show you is pre-screened. Most adoption agencies have a thorough adoption screening process that ensures the family is ready to raise a child.
• Print and video profiles of hopeful adoptive families. Instead of waiting for an adoption match by yourself, your adoption professional will show you print and video profiles of hopeful adoptive parents. These profiles will give you a better idea of their parenting style, interests, hobbies and much more.
• Help with contacting a hopeful adoptive family. When you self-match, it’s up to you to reach out to hopeful adoptive parents. When you work with an adoption agency, though, your professional will help you reach out to them and set up your first meeting with them.
• Help with getting to know the hopeful adoptive parents. Getting to know the adoptive parents can seem overwhelming at first. But, your adoption professional will break the ice and mediate your first conversation with them. They can ask you both some questions to help dispel any nerves or tension so you feel comfortable with each other. This conversation will also help you determine if this is the right adoption match.

For prospective birth mothers like you, adoption agencies can be helpful and convenient. They can always help you with your adoption matching process, whereas you’d have to pursue this alone when you self-match.

The bottom line: An adoption agency can provide the services, guidance and support you need. By working with an agency, you can find the right adoption match and make sure your baby has a wonderful, loving family.

Finding the Perfect Adoption Match [Without an Adoption Agency]

As a prospective birth mother, you simply want to find the right adoptive family for your child. In other words, this is known as an adoption match. From a general standpoint, there are two ways to experience the adoption matching process: self-matching and through a trusted adoption agency.

Self-matching is when you look for the perfect adoptive family without the help of an adoption agency. This allows you to build a direct relationship with the hopeful adoptive parents (although you can do the same through an agency-assisted open adoption).

Unlike when you work with an agency, you’ll have to figure out all the details by yourself because there won’t be any intermediary to ensure a smooth adoption process.

Waiting for an adoption match without an agency can be difficult. When you work with an adoption agency, the professional will set you up with other necessary services, which you will now need to find on your own.

Below, we’ll go over a few things that you’ll need to find:

• Adoption attorneys: One of the most significant parts of any adoption journey is finding an adoption attorney. An adoption agency will usually coordinate legal services for you, but you’ll have to find an attorney without an agency’s help if you’re self-matching. The adoption attorney will legally finalize the adoption and ensure a fair, legal and ethical experience.
• Adoptive family profiles: If you are self-matching, then you’ll want to browse adoptive family profiles online or in newspapers. Most adoption agencies work with families to create profiles for them, so you can keep an eye out for these as you do some research on the internet.
• Community networking: In some instances, you might want to find your own adoption match because you already know who you want the adoptive parents to be. Or, if that isn’t the case, you can ask your friends and family if they know of anyone who is interested in adopting a child.

Even if you pursue the adoption matching process alone, keep in mind that all hopeful adoptive families must complete a home study. Families with an agency will already have their home study completed, but that’s not a guarantee wit self-matching. And if the family doesn’t complete their home study on time, they cannot adopt your baby.

On top of this, you will need an adoption attorney to finalize your adoption.

Taking care of everything the adoption process requires on your own can be overwhelming. That’s why, for many women, working with an agency is often a better option.

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If you have any more questions about finding your perfect adoption match, then please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. You can contact us today to get more adoption information now. We’d love to help you complete this beautiful, life-changing journey.