Saying goodbye to a child when giving them up for adoption can be emotionally devastating. Fortunately, not all types of adoption go this way. Open adoption allows birth parents to connect with adoptive parents during and after the process. But what is the open adoption definition?
Open adoption is a more modern approach to adoption where adoptive parents, birth parents, and the child maintain contact. Unlike closed adoption, where nothing is public, open adoptions allow for transparency among all the parties involved.
Read more to discover everything you need to know about the subject!
Table of Contents
Open Adoption Definition: What Is It All About?
Open adoption describes a relationship between birth parents and adoptive parents in which they share identifying information and maintain contact. This varying level of contact extends during the adoption process and afterward. There is usually no need for an adoption agency.
It is one of the most popular forms of adoption, only falling behind mediated adoption. It is best for a birth family and an adoptive family that want to know each other beforehand. It is also good for those intending to maintain their relationship afterward.
Open adoptions are dynamic and depend entirely on both families involved. For instance, they may involve both families keeping in touch through frequent visits. In other cases, they may involve recurring phone calls and a high degree of openness regarding the child’s affairs.
However, open adoption is not the same thing as co-parenting. Instead, it differs based on the level of contact between the involved families. Overall, it depends on the adoption agreement.
How Open Adoption Works
The exact terms of an open adoption depend on the people involved. Usually, the birth and adoptive parents meet through emails, phone calls, and exchanges. After the adoption process, the parties can still maintain communication through any convenient means.
Here is how an open adoption would normally work.
1. Discovering an Open Adoption Opportunity
It all starts with birth mothers considering an adoption plan with the assistance of family members or an adoption professional. If they choose an open adoption, they’ll pick an adoptive family from those who may have shown interest.
The adoptive family will also decide if they want this type of adoption. The two parties will then locate each other independently or through an agency. They’ll create a plan describing how much contact they’ll have.
2. Pre-Placement Contact
For most open adoptions, the adoptive and the birth families know themselves before the baby’s birth. The pre-placement contact for each adoption case differs depending on how much time they get to familiarize themselves.
Adoption professionals usually schedule mediated calls between both parties to help them get to know each other better. After the call, the birth and adoptive parents usually exchange contact information for further communication.
3. In-Person Meeting at the Hospital During Birth
When working with agencies like American Adoptions, birth parents create hospital plans that cover labor and child delivery. This plan also covers their preferred level of interaction with the adoptive family at the hospital.
The adoptive parents will know of the birth parent’s hospital plans. This way, they’ll know what to expect when the date arrives. In most cases, the hospital visit is the first opportunity for an in-person meeting. If both parties speak different languages, you’ll need personal translation services.
4. Post-Placement Contact
After post-placement contact in an open adoption, there is usually limited contact between the birth and adoptive parents. This can be an emotional period for both parties. Therefore, they may take some time off before engaging with themselves again.
Even as time passes, professionals recommend email communication since it offers a convenient and straightforward mode of contact. Contact may increase with time, leading to the first post-placement visit.
In reality, the adoption process does not end totally. Although most prefer semi-open adoptions that minimize contact, completely open ones are quite popular. Still, this type of adoption is not for everyone. All parties must understand the terms before hopping on.
Top 3 Benefits of Open Adoption
Going for open adoption means that children will know who they are and where they come from. This openness helps them form a healthy sense of belonging and identity. Here are three benefits of choosing this option:
- Benefits for the child: Open adoption helps children grow their identity and connect to their roots. Since they’ll know their birth parents and access their medical history, they’ll better understand their heritage without feeling abandoned.
- Benefits for birth parents: Through open adoption, birth parents can remain a part of their children’s life. They can watch their growth from a healthy distance. This way, they can get emotional closure and be certain of their children’s wellbeing.
- Benefits for the adoptive parents: Open adoption promotes trust between the birth and adoptive parents. Hence, it gives adoptive parents more security in their role in the child’s life. They can also have an honest relationship with the child.
Open vs Closed Adoption: How Are They Different?
Open and closed adoptions are two different approaches to the adoption process. In an open adoption, birth parents, adoptive parents, and the child maintain some level of contact. This can be through emails, letters, phone calls, or visits.
In open adoptions, the child has a connection to their birth family, giving them a sense of identity. This option lets birth parents see their children grow while adoptive families benefit from their connection to the children’s backgrounds.
On the other hand, closed adoptions involve zero contact between birth and adoptive families. In this case, their identities remain sealed, leaving children with no information about their birth families. People with privacy or safety concerns usually prefer this option.
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FAQ
After covering the definition of adoption, how it works, and its benefits, let’s cover some frequently asked questions!
Who decides how open the adoption will be?
In an open adoption, openness comes from a mutual agreement between the birth and the adoptive parents. They work with the guidance of an adoption agency to determine how much contact will occur.
What types of contact can happen in an open adoption?
In open adoption, contact can occur through regular phone calls, in-person visits, and emails. Depending on the initial agreements between both parties, communication may occur between both families directly or through an adoption agency.
