By Shamani Salahuddin

When a woman is pregnant and considering adoption, many people may judge her. “She’s abandoning her child” and “She’s doing this for herself” are thoughts that may cross their minds. Movies, television, and other media forms convey tropes about birth mothers, leading society to think they know about adoption. In reality, they don’t. Adoption stereotypes are damaging for birth mothers searching for pregnancy adoption help.

Adoption in Nevada is a real choice for birth mothers faced with an unplanned pregnancy. They are brave and caring women making the difficult decision in the best interest of their baby. At Adoption Choices of Nevada, we want people to know adoption is for all birth mothers and cannot fit in a box.        

1. Birth mothers considering adoption don’t care or want to connect with their baby

Many people find it challenging to understand giving a baby up for adoption.  They assume the birth mother is choosing adoption for selfish reasons. That they want to send their child away and never think about them again.  

Putting your baby up for adoption is a brave and even responsible decision as a mother. It takes accepting that a family can give your baby better opportunities than you can give right now. In closed adoption situations, others may think the birth mother doesn’t want any connection with their baby. This is not the case. You may need to protect your privacy or feel hearing about your child post-placement is emotionally heavy. 

Open adoptions can get complicated, so some birthmothers see it as more beneficial for the child not to have contact. Adoptions are nuanced; there are both positives and negatives. Regardless, the birth mother is trying to make the best decision for their baby and themselves.     

2. Birth mothers regret giving their baby up for adoption

Some people imagine that, after the delivery, a birth mother will see their baby and completely change their mind. However, the difficult decision to give up a child for adoption makes it rare for a birth mother to change her mind. A lot of thought and care goes into her choice to give her child a better future. Adoption can be challenging and emotional, but that doesn’t mean you are choosing the wrong path for you and your baby. 

3. Birth mothers are all teenagers and disadvantaged

It is true that many teenagers face unplanned pregnancies, but this does not account for all birth mothers. Because of the television trope of the pregnant high school teenager, many people see this as the image of adoption. While this stereotype exists, it is not always the case.

Adoption in Nevada is not a one-size-fits-all model. There are many different birth mothers of all different ages and circumstances. Some may not have the resources to care for a child, others may live in dangerous situations, and others may already have children. Like regular people, birthmothers come from different ethnic, economic, and educational backgrounds.        

4. Birth mothers will try to get their baby back after adoption

People imagine the way adoption looks in the movies. After the delivery, the birth mother will see their baby and instantly feel regret. They can’t fathom giving birth to a baby and feel okay handing it to another family to raise.   

While this is a good story for cinema, this scenario doesn’t occur frequently. A birth mother has her full term to realize what she wants for her and her baby. She has resources for adoption in Las Vegas, like support groups and adoption specialists, to guide her through the adoption process. A birth mother creates an adoption plan, meets with an adoption specialist, and chooses a family to have time to think through the decision confidently. Adoption Choices of Nevada offers all these services, and more, for free. 

5. Birth mothers don’t realize the benefits of open adoption

A birth mother decides whether or not they want continued contact with the adoptive family during the adoption process. No communication between the two parties is a closed adoption, but choosing to have contact is called an open adoption.   

Adoption Choices of Nevada has open adoptions with varying degrees of contact, including exchanging letters and photos and occasional visits. Despite the type of contact, communication between the birth mother and adoptive parents occurs early in pregnancy. Adoptive families are more drawn to an open adoption to build a relationship with the birth mother. One benefit of open adoption is ensuring the child is secure in their identity as they age. Between the parents, communication helps build trust and possibly friendship. Although there can be complicated emotions between the two parties, they both know what the process entails.

Every Nevada Adoption is Different

Each birth mother is an individual who has come to decide on adoption for their own reasons. All the misconceptions about birth mothers are easily proven false when you take the time to understand their stories. 

At Adoption Choices of Nevada, we treat birth mothers as an individual and never make judgments about their life or their choices. If you are a pregnant woman considering adoption and afraid of being misunderstood, choose Adoption Choices of Nevada.