If you’re unfamiliar with adoption, you might be surprised to know just how much every prospective birth mother is in charge of. Unlike adoptions of the past, she is the driver’s seat from beginning to end. But, how is this all possible? Through something called her adoption plan.

When you decide to give an adoptive couple the gift of a family, you are making the most selfless, loving decision that any mother could make for her child. Because of this, your adoption professional will work closely to support you during this process, help you determine what you want your adoption experience to look like and ensure that your voice is always heard.

Below, we’ve provided some information on how to make an adoption plan, what adoption plans for women typically include and sample adoption plans so that you can get an idea of what to add to yours. If you’d like to go over how to plan for adoption in more detail, you can always reach out to an adoption professional to talk it over. Please fill out our free information form to be connected with an agency today.

What is an Adoption Plan?

An adoption plan is a detailed outline of what you want your adoption experience to look like. It will also include what your goals are for your child’s future. Because of how much planning is involved, it can be a challenging step for a prospective birth mother. But taking the time to make a prospective birth parent adoption plan will make each step much easier as it is the best way to make sure that your wishes are respected.

Because every adoption is unique, this means that there isn’t just one adoption plan definition. What you will want from your adoption experience may look very different from another prospective birth mother – and that’s okay! Your are the only one who, and should, on the perfect adoption plan meaning fits.

How Can I Start My Adoption Plan?

One of the first steps to make an adoption plan is to contact an adoption professional. Depending on what you’re looking for in your adoption experience, you can either work with a national or local adoption agency.  Both types of agencies are a great option, but national adoption agencies have more resources and a larger staff that can accommodate your needs.

When you contact an agency for the first time, they’ll ask you some questions about your situation and what your goals are for an adoption. If you’re just looking for information at this time, and you’re not ready to make an adoption plan quite yet, don’t worry. Any information you receive is completely free, and you are under no obligation to choose adoption when you’re not ready.

Which Agencies Can Help Me Make My Planned Adoption?

Any adoption agency can help you make an adoption plan!

If you haven’t had a chance to look at your options, here are a few national adoption agencies that you might consider working with:

• American Adoptions
• Gladney Center for Adoption
• Bethany Christian Services

What Can I Choose in My Adoption Plan for my Baby?

As the prospective birth mother, you get to choose every aspect of your adoption. A few options that you get to decide on are:

The Adoptive Family

Choosing the adoptive family is perhaps the most important decision a prospective birth mother will ever make for her baby when she’s planning for adoption. The family you choose will determine the kind of life and opportunities your child will be blessed to have. As such, we bet that you have plenty of questions about what you should be looking for when you start looking through adoptive family profiles.

When you start planning for adoption, below are a just a few of the many questions that you should ask yourself when looking for the perfect family:

• Do I want them to be the same race as me?
• Do I want them to share the same religion or traditions?
• Do I want them to live in the same state or farther away?
• Do I want my child to grow up around pets?
• Do I want my child to grow up as an only child, or should they be surrounded by siblings?
• Do I want to choose the adoptive family, or do I want you’re my adoption professional to do it?
• And much, much more

Once you’ve got an idea of what you’re looking for, your adoption professional will start finding potential adoptive parents who meet your desires. Once that’s done, they’ll start by sending you adoptive parent profiles. If you think you’ve found the perfect fit, you can start getting to know the family you’ve chosen. But if that hasn’t happened quite yet, don’t worry. Your professional will keep sending profiles until you do.

The Amount of Contact You’re Comfortable With

In most modern adoption plans, a woman will choose to have some degree of closeness with her baby and the adoptive family as they grow up. You can also decide how much contact you’re open to before placement, too. The options that you have available to you are:

An Open Adoption

An open adoption, or a full-disclosure adoption, is almost always encouraged by adoption professionals. In this type of post-placement relationship, you’ll be able to share pictures, letters, phone calls and even in-person visits. The beauty of an open adoption is that it can include whatever you want it to. When you make your adoption plan, you can choose your level of contact.

A Semi-Open Adoption

If you’re looking for a relationship that will let you have the best of both worlds, then a semi-open adoption is what you want. Here, you’ll be able to be a part of your child’s life as much as possible, while still maintaining some amount of privacy.

A Closed Adoption

Depending on your situation, a closed adoption might be best for you. But, it’s not as common as it once was. In this type of adoption relationship, you will have little or no contact with the adoptive family and your child. If you’re interested in this type of adoption plan relationship, please keep in mind that closed doesn’t mean closed like it used to. With the internet, your child can now easily look up information about their birth family online. So, even if you don’t plan on continuing contact with them now, they could find out about their biological family at a later point.

The Hospital Stay

The hospital stay is one of the most important parts of the adoption. With your adoption plan, you’ll be able to decide:

• How much time you want to spend with your baby at the hospital
• Whether you want to take pictures with the adoptive family and your baby at the hospital
• Whether you plan to nurse your baby
• And more

No matter what you want your hospital experience to look like, an adoption professional can help you make it happen through your adoption plan.

How Can an Adoption Agency Walk Me Through the Adoption Plan Process?

Trying to determine every aspect of your adoption plan can be overwhelming, to say the least. That’s why your adoption professional is here to help. They will walk you through each and every step and can even help you determine what to include if you’re having trouble. If you’re ready to start making an adoption plan today, you can get started now by contacting an adoption agency.

How Will the Agency Use My Adoption Game Plan?

Once you’ve filled out your adoption plan, your professional will get to work finding a family that meets your needs, along with helping you get to know the family. They’ll also be distributing your adoption plan to the hospital and to the adoptive family so that they know what your expectations are for this day.

Planning for adoption after the birth of your baby gives you control of all the important decisions and puts you in charge of the adoption process. Making your adoption plan can be an empowering step, but it can also be overwhelming. That’s why you never have to worry about planning for adoption on your own. An adoption agency will be with you every step of the way.

If you’d like more information on how to plan for adoption, or if you’d like to see a sample adoption plan to help you get started, contact an adoption agency now. They can provide you with an adoption plan template to fill out and help you make the perfect adoption plan for your baby. now. They can provide you with an adoption plan template to fill out and help you make the perfect adoption plan for your baby.