Common Myths and Misconceptions about Adoption Placement

When you’re facing an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy, you have many difficult decisions to make. Many women consider placing their unborn child for adoption as a solution. Yet, there are many misconceptions they have about the placement process. To help you make healthy and loving choices for yourself and your child, we’ve compiled some of these common myths along with the truth about them.

Common Concerns about Adoption Placement

The Placement Process is Too Complicated

One common concern women have about adoption is that the process is difficult, time consuming, or stressful. After all, many women thinking about adoption do so because they don’t have the time or resources to parent. Going through a lengthy adoption process often seems as bad.

In truth, though, placing a child for adoption is simple and straightforward. This is especially true when you work with an experienced adoption agency. Your agent will do the work of finding and screening potential parents for you. All you have to concentrate on is staying healthy and living your life. Once your agency finds some potential matches, you can meet with the parents and create an adoption plan together.

Being a Birth Mother is Expensive

Anyone who has children knows the process of giving birth and raising them is costly. Many birth mothers assume these costs – like hospital bills, doctor’s appointments, maternity clothes, and prenatal vitamins – will also apply to them. But when you place your baby for adoption the fact is almost none of these costs apply to you.

Because of their sacrifice, most birth mothers have their costs covered by others. Usually this is either the adoptive family or the adoption agency they are working with. This can include their medical bills, living expenses, and more. Each adoption is different and the exact details of what other people will and won’t provide can vary. In general, though, a birth mother pays very few of her own costs when placing her child for adoption.

I Can’t Trust Parents I Don’t Know to Adopt My Child

Another common concern from birth mothers is they don’t trust “strangers” to take care of their child. This is an understandable fear, but it’s also a baseless one. In truth, adoptive parents are some of the most trustworthy caregivers a child can have.

Consider this: When a family signs up to adopt a child, they can’t simply pick a baby and be done with it. The adoption process is rigorous. Only motivated and capable parents will be able to make it through the whole process. Here is a sample of what potential adoptive parents have to go through to adopt a child:

• Several home visits and inspections from a licensed social worker;

• Detailed interviews with the adoption agency, the birth mother, and the social worker;

• In-depth application forms;

• Fees and other costs associated with adoption.

Plus, even when a family completes the initial adoption process, it can take years to match with a birth mother. It’s estimated there are more than 30 waiting couples for every child placed for adoption in the United States. Only a truly motivated couple will make it through the process.

Adoption Placement is Only for Teenagers

Many people have an image of a mother who places a baby for adoption: a young, unwed girl who got pregnant and who can’t support a child on her own. But this image isn’t accurate. In fact, it only represents a small number of all birth mothers.

Birth mothers come from all walks of life. You shouldn’t discount the possibility of adoption placement only because you think you don’t fit the “typical” birth mother image. Many birth mothers already have their own children; many are married and have a stable career. The fact is, adoption placement is a choice that any woman can make. You shouldn’t be afraid or ashamed to consider it yourself.

Learn More About Being a Birth Mother

If you’re thinking about placing your child for adoption, we can help you through the process. Deaconess Pregnancy & Adoption is Oklahoma’s oldest and most experienced adoption agency, and we’re ready to help you with your adoption journey. Call (405) 949-4200 today or visit us on Facebook for more information and help.