Placing a Baby for Adoption

What Kind of Adoption Paperwork Will I Need to Fill Out?


One of the most important aspects every prospective birth mother must think of are her legal adoption rights and the adoption papers she has to fill out.

Of course, we know the idea of adoption paperwork can be intimidating. Adoption is already a challenging enough process, and you’re probably confused about what kind of “giving up for adoption” forms you need to get started.

As the prospective birth mother, you normally have four main adoption forms fill out:

Below, we will walk you through the entire process of what each one of these documents entails. But as always, don’t forget that you can always reach out to an adoption professional. To learn more, please fill out our free information to be contacted by an adoption agency.

Your Adoption Plan

When you decide to start the adoption journey, your adoption professional will work closely with you to create something known as an adoption plan. This piece of the adoption paperwork is extremely important, as it will lay down the blueprint for your entire adoption experience. Together will your adoption professional, you will decide on:

  • What you’re looking for in an adoptive family: As the prospective birth mother, it is your job to choose the perfect adoptive family based on your preferences. For example, you might want to find a family who lives closer to you, allowing for frequent, in-person visits. Or you might want to find a family who lives farther away so your child can expand their horizons. You might also have preferences about the adoptive family‘s race, religion, hobbies, values, lifestyle and more. No matter what you’re looking for, your adoption professional will make sure it happens.
  • Your contact preferences: Choosing adoption doesn’t have to mean the end of some of the most important relationships you’ll ever have. When you fill out your adoption paperwork, you get to decide how much contact you’re open to with the adoptive family and your baby before, during and after the adoption.
  • The types of support and services you need: As you complete your adoption plan, you may also be asked to provide information about your living situation, your support system, your financial needs and your personal, educational and career goals. Your adoption professional will use this information to connect you with the helpful adoption services and support you might need, like counseling and emotional support, financial assistance and more.
  • Other important adoption details: As a prospective birth mother, you are in charge of the adoption process. As part of your adoption plan, you will get to make all of the important decisions about how you want this process to go.

Your Social Medical History

When you’re just starting out, it only makes sense that your adoption professional will want to get to know a little bit about you and your situation. This is where the adoption form that covers your medical and social history comes in.

Here, you’ll fill out your and your family’s health history and any history of substance usage. There are also forms that can be filled out by the prospective birth father if he is involved. You will be asked to provide additional medical background information for your child if you’re not placing an infant up for adoption.

We know that filling out this portion of your adoption paperwork can seem daunting. Your medical history is probably the last thing you feel comfortable sharing, especially with a professional you’re just getting to know. But we promise that anything you disclose will remain private and confidential.

Your Adoption Hospital Plan

Technically, your adoption hospital plan is just another part of your adoption plan. But because of how much is involved, we think it deserves its own category.

When you fill out your hospital plan adoption paperwork, you’ll be able to decide:

  • Which members of your support team will be at the hospital
  • How much time you plan to spend with the adoptive family while they’re there
  • If you plan to nurse your baby
  • And much more

The nice thing about your adoption hospital plan is that it’s not set in stone. You can even update it once you arrive at the hospital. If and when you need to change anything, just let your adoption professional know, and they’ll help you get started.

Once you’ve filled out your giving your child up for adoption paperwork for your hospital stay, your professional will distribute it to the hospital you’ve chosen and the adoptive family. Naturally, you’ve going to have a lot more going on than women who are choosing to parent their child. That’s why it’s so important for everyone to be on board with what your goals are for the adoption and your hospital stay.

Your Consent to the Adoption

Before you can officially place your child up for adoption, you will need to sign your consent adoption paperwork. This process will terminate your parental rights. These forms can only be signed after you’ve delivered. Normally, you’ll have to wait for a minimum amount of time, often between 24 hours to a few days, before you can give your consent to the adoption. There may also a period of revocation in which you can change your mind after signing your consent adoption forms, but how long you’ll have will depend on the state you live in.

It’s important to speak with your adoption attorney and your adoption professional before filling out this giving your child up for adoption paperwork.  Once it is done, you won’t be able to be able to change your mind and get your baby back in the best interests of your child. From that point on, the adoptive family will be your child’s permanent, legal parents.

If you have any doubts about the adoption process or about what papers are needed to give a child up for adoption this point, please don’t be afraid to speak up and let your adoption professional know. You will not receive any judgement for asking questions. They just want you to be absolutely sure that, no matter what decision you make, you know it’s the right one.

Learning about online forms for giving a baby up for adoption when you need to know how to sign up for adoption can be a little overwhelming. But that’s where an adoption agency can step in and answer all your questions. And if you’re ready to get started, they can even provide you with the adoption application for pregnant women. To start the process today, please fill out our free information to be contacted by an adoption professional.


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