The adoption process can feel daunting, especially when you have to think about finding an adoptive family, where to have your baby, and where to find financial support. Depending on your relationship, you may even have some serious concerns about the birth father’s involvement.
However, there’s one part of the adoption process that you likely can’t stop turning over in your head —your relationship with your child after the adoption. You’re likely wondering:
- Once you give your child up for adoption, can you still see her or him?
- When putting a baby up for adoption, what are the arrangements for that parent to see their child after placement?
- Can you give your baby up for adoption but still have visitation rights?
These questions are perfectly normal. After all, this is one of the biggest decisions that you’ll ever make, so it’s okay if you’re unsure of what to expect right now.
The good news is that you don’t have to be worried about not being able to see your child after your adoption. In modern adoptions, most prospective birth mothers continue to have a relationship with their child after placement.
So, when you “give up a child,” future contact is more than possible in an adoption. You’ll be able to watch them grow up happy and healthy with their adoptive parents. Expectant mothers often ask us, “Can I give my baby up for adoption and still keep in contact?” Through an open adoption, you absolutely can.
If you’d like to learn more about what to expect during an open adoption, please contact an adoption specialist today to receive free information.
If You Give Your Child Up for Adoption, Can You Still Have Contact With Them?
Yes. If you “give a baby up” for adoption, you can still see her or him. Putting a child up for adoption when you can still visit is called open adoption.
Prospective birth mothers often ask us a lot about open adoption for their baby. If you have decided that adoption is the best option for you, but you still dream of seeing your child and having a fulfilling relationship with them, open adoption is the right choice for you.
When it comes to open adoption, we usually hear questions like:
- When you give your baby up for adoption, would the biological parents be able to visit the baby?
- Can I give my baby up for adoption and still keep in contact?
- When you give your babies up for adoption, are you allowed to see them later?
With open adoption, the answer to all of these questions is yes. When a birth mother starts working with an infant adoption agency, she has complete control of her adoption experience from the very beginning. This includes the kind of relationship she wants to have with her child after the adoption. If you choose to have an open adoption, keeping in touch with your child, building a relationship that will last a lifetime, and even visiting them in person is more than possible.
Types of Open Adoption
Every open adoption is unique. When you choose to make an adoption plan, not only will you be able to decide if you want an open adoption, you’ll also be able to decide how much contact you want to have with your child afterwards. If you are wondering “After giving your child up for adoption, can you have contact with them?” the answer is yes. How much contact you choose to have is completely up to you. Here are the two different ways you can have an open adoption with your child:
Semi-open Adoption
Even if you’re comfortable with an open adoption, you might not feel that you’re ready to share everything about yourself with your child. Women that choose a semi-open or a mediated adoption do so because they’re still looking for a bit of privacy in their life. They may choose to share non-identifying information, such as their first name and the state they live in, and exchange contact like pictures and letters through the adoption agency to keep their personal address private from the adoptive family.
Open Adoption
“Will I see my baby after giving them up for adoption?” This is a pretty common question that we get from prospective birth mothers. If you are looking for an option that will allow for you to see your child more often, then a fully open or full-disclosure adoption is the best option for you. You’ll be able to share private information like your name, your address, and more with the adoptive family. You’ll even be able to arrange visits in person if you’d like.
All you need to do to have a fully open adoption is to find prospective adoptive parents that have the same goals for their adoption as you do.
Benefits of an Open Adoption
It wasn’t long ago that closed adoption was the norm and people believe that secrecy in adoption was best for everyone involved. Thankfully, this isn’t common today. Children that have been placed for adoption now have the wonderful opportunity to get to know their birth parents and their own open adoption story. Adoptive families that may have been unsure of open adoption will be able to say with confidence that this was the right decision for their family. And birth parents, most importantly, will be able to look back and feel confidence in their open adoption decision.
If you’re pregnant and considering adoption, it’s common to worry, “If I give my baby up for adoption, do I still get to see her or him?” But know that when you choose an open adoption, you can absolutely still have the relationship you want with your baby after an adoption.
If you’d like to start learning more about open adoption, don’t be afraid to reach out to an adoption specialist. We’d be more than happy to connect you with the resources you need to get started.