Baby Adoption, Child Adoption

Considering adoption? Yes, it's a great idea. It may be the answer to your desire to have children!

No, dear.

You've wanted all you life to be a mom, it doesn't matter how you become one. If you're ready, your dream of motherhood can soon happen.

Give someone out there a new lease of life, adopt a baby or a child.

When you do so, do not be tempted to think that you've failed in your mission to conceive your own baby. Adoption is an alternative route for you, not the last resort. It is not raising your white flag in surrender.

This is not an option for the faint-hearted. Neither is it for the fickle-minded. Pity will not go far.

Adopting another's child is a high calling. It's a higher calling than giving birth to your own flesh and blood. It's a special privilege reserved for those who are mature, who possess unfailing love, faith, hope and patience to accept and raise a child not their own, regardless of what the future brings, and asking nothing in return.

It takes courage and determination to go through the entire adoption process which isn't easy. Sometimes, it is wrought with pain and agonzing anticipation and can be pretty costly.

Therefore, before you adopt, an important question awaits your honest reply.

Are you ready to be an adoptive parent?

Adopting a baby or a child requires as much preparations as those made by natural parents when they get ready for the home-coming of their newborn.

In fact, for you the adoptive parent, you'll have to make much more sacrifices! There are several specific emotional issues within you and in your future relationship with your prospective adoptive child that you've to sort out before your final decision.

While it does require a lot from you to be ready for adoption, it doesn't require you to be perfect. No one is perfect, not even the natural parents of your prospective adoptive child. What is required is that you weigh the decision seriously and commit to its cause even when the going gets very tough.

When you're ready to adopt, you'll have to consider a number of factors, such as whether you should adopt a newborn or an older child, whether you should adopt locally or from a foreign land, and which among the adoption agencies is the right one for you.

Some of your concerns are addressed below:

Domestic Adoption

In the past, contraceptions and legalized abortions made it difficult for prospective adoptive parents to find a baby for adoption. However, it gets easier to do so now as more birth parents are willing to give their baby up for adoption because of the removal of its accompanying stigma. This is indeed a better option for unmarried teenagers, single mothers or couples who have more children than they can afford to raise, to give their baby a chance at a better life.

Depending on the law in your country or state, domestic cases may be handled by an agency or by an attorney.

There are a few adoption options to choose from:

• Closed or Confidential - where the identities of the birthparents and the adoptive parents may not be shared.

• Semi-Open or Mediated - where some specific information may be shared through a mediator who's usually the attorney or an agency personnel.

• Open or Fully Disclosed - where there is full disclosure of indentifying information between both set of parents by mutual agreement.

The prospective adoptive parents could be asked to foot part of the living and medical bills of the birthmother while they await the birth of their prospective adoptive baby.

You can hasten the process if you don't limit your selection to your own race or ethnicity. You may be able to get a baby under a year if you're not fussy.

Foster Care Adoption

The other way to speed up the process is to adopt older children from foster care. These children are more readily available.

Many of these children belong to unwed mothers who have tried desperately to care for them but couldn't. As a last resort, they turn to adoption agencies for help.

The challenge to raising older children from disadvantaged background is winning their love and trust as some of them may have been physically or emotionally abused. Sometimes, these neglected children may have already formed negative behaviorial patterns that'll require your patient discipline. Others through malnutrition or diseases may require long-term medical attention, and this factor will increase your cost in raising them.

These are real issues for careful consideration when you're thinking of getting a child from the foster care system.

International Adoption

Foreign adoption was ushered into America by the Korean War, when orphans from Korea were placed with American families.

Since then, much American interest is shown in adopting babies and young children from countries like China, Russia, Korea, Guatemala and Kazakhstan.

Agencies that handle such cases are usually private non-profit organisations that specialised in this area. However, sometimes you'll find an agency that handles both domestic and international cases.

The process of adopting a foreign child is complicated and will take a longer time because of the different law and policies of the foreign countries involved. The bureaucratic process can be cumblesome and it can be halted without notice as and when the political situations in these countries change. You'll also have to watch out for difficulties such as not fully knowing the baby's background or not getting a reliable health report.

Depending on the country your chosen child is from, it can cost you somewhere between $25,000 to $35,000.

Sometimes, it'll take more than 1 attempt to finally get your baby. You'll certainly need the service of a reliable and experienced agent to help you navigate through the entire process.

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