By Moki Murillo

National Adoption Month is a government initiative designed to raise awareness about adoptive families and the issues they face. These children of adoptive families often struggle with their identity and the stigma that society places on adoption. That’s why the month of November should be a time to empower these children to forge their own futures. The month also celebrates the parents, both biological and adoptive, who work to give these children a better future. But what is adoption, and why is it important?

Adoption: Then and Now

Adoption, simply put, is the process of placing children into a family other than their immediate birth parents. 

As a practice, adoption has been around since ancient times because not every birth parent could raise their children. While there are birth parents who simply don’t want kids, others have circumstances that prevent them from taking custody. These circumstances include social obstacles, such as poverty or an abusive environment, or physical obstacles, such as death. In the United States, the modern adoption process didn’t begin to form until 1851. This was the year that the first adoption legislation was passed, which led to the process being more formalized.

Today, the adoption process can be facilitated through multiple institutions. One of the most prominent of these institutions is a  private adoption agency. This includes us, Adoption Choices of Nevada. Private adoption agencies like us help birth mothers place their children into other families. We allow birth mothers the freedom to choose the adoptive family. Our agency even provides adoption services to ease a birth mother’s medical and financial burdens if they are eligible.

While the adoption process has changed over the years, the need for it hasn’t. Many birth parents in Nevada alone are unable to raise their children for one reason or another. These parents want a better future for their children, one that they may not be able to provide. You might be one of these parents.

Raising children is difficult enough, but it is even harder if they are the result of an unplanned pregnancy. While adoption can be a hard decision, there are real benefits to adoption that are worth considering.

 Our Adoption Services Can Cover Your Expenses

Typically, in private adoptions, the adoptive family pays for the birth mother’s expenses during their pregnancy. Adoption Choices of Nevada follows this model.

When you come to us for adoption, you work with an adoption counselor to draft your adoption plan. This adoption plan allows you to personalize the adoption process, such as the adoption type you wish to pursue. That specific option is based on how open you want the adoption to be. An open or semi-open adoption allows you to maintain contact with the adoptive family. A closed adoption does not. The plan may also allow us to cover your living and medical expenses.

It is a known fact that pregnant women have to pay more for medical expenses than their non-pregnant counterparts. Prenatal care is expensive, and how you give birth can cause that bill to go higher. If you are eligible, Adoption Choices of Nevada can alleviate those financial burdens by covering the costs.

Additionally, our adoption plans can cover reasonable living expenses if you are eligible. These expenses can include rent, utilities, phone bills, maternity clothes, laundry, and basic needs like food and hygiene. We can also cover your transportation, such as to and from your appointments with your adoption counselor.

While it may feel callous to think about personal benefits, you must consider the personal costs of pregnancy. Being pregnant isn’t cheap, and you still need to pay for life’s usual expenses on top of that. If you can’t afford these extra expenses, then signing up for an adoption plan may be your best option.

Adoption Allows You to Give Your Child a Better Future

Choosing an open or semi-open adoption in Nevada allows you to choose which family gets to adopt your child. These options allow you, as the birth mother, to screen through multiple families and even interview them. Many of the birth mothers we work with use this option to find families that are more financially secure. They want families that can afford to give their child more opportunities, such as a good education. If you feel the same, you are more than welcome to screen families with this expectation in mind. Since our agency gets adoption applications daily, then you have a good chance of finding this ideal family.

Choosing Adoption isn’t Goodbye for You and Your Child

Popular knowledge claims that birth parents will never see their child again after they get adopted. This, however, is only true for closed adoptions. If you choose to pursue an open adoption, you can communicate with your child’s adoptive parents. The adoptive parents can keep you updated about your child. If they consent, you can even get to meet your child. While the adoptive parents retain legal custody, this arrangement can allow you to be involved in your child’s life.

Celebrating National Adoption Month

The best way to honor this month is to set aside any negative associations you may have about adoption. As you have seen, adoption can both benefit yourself and your baby. Pursuing adoption will allow you to take advantage of our adoption services. You should be able to have your expenses covered during pregnancy. More importantly, an open or semi-open adoption can allow you a say in your child’s future. You may even have a relationship with your child through an open adoption.

If you want to celebrate this month, then give adoption a fair and open-minded consideration. Should you want to explore adoption opportunities, call Adoption Choices of Nevada today.

Reference:

Herman, Ellen. “Adoption History in Brief.” The Adoption History Project, University of Oregon, 24 Feb. 2012, pages.uoregon.edu/adoption/topics/adoptionhistbrief.htm.