How to Involve Your Family in Your Adoption Plan
Deciding how to move forward with an unplanned pregnancy is an extremely difficult task. If you’re a birth mother facing this decision, you may wonder if it’s possible for your family to support you through the process and aid you in the difficult choices you will have to make along the way. The good news is that at Adoption Choices of Kansas, you will have the opportunity to involve your family as much or as little as you would like throughout your adoption plan.
How Involved Should Your Family Be Your Adoption Plan?
You may want your family to be involved with everything in your adoption plan, or you may not want them to contribute at all. If you are dealing with teen pregnancy, you may need the support of your family and may benefit from the wisdom they can offer since dealing with adoption at such a young age is not an easy task. You will have the freedom to choose how involved your family will be. If you are worried about how they will respond to your choice to pursue adoption, make sure you set aside ample time to discuss your decision and take the time to answer any questions, they may have. You don’t need to feel pressured to include your family in your adoption plan, but if it is your desire to seek their insight and support, make sure you let them know how valuable their contributions to the process will be and keep them up to date with any upcoming decisions.
It may seem scary to announce your decision to give up your baby for adoption to your family, but it is important to do so if you want them to be a part of the process. Remember that the adoption will affect them in a personal way, and try to be gracious with them as they seek to understand your decision if it’s difficult news for them to hear.
Will My Baby Be Able to Meet My Family?
This depends on what type of adoption you agree on with the adoptive parents. If you choose to have an open adoption, you may be able to work it out with the adoptive family for your child to meet your own family. In a sense, your child will have another set of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and maybe even cousins. However, the extent to which your child is invested in your family as the birth mother varies greatly depending on how open their adoption is. Being extremely connected with you and your family may make it hard for your child to connect strongly with its adoptive parents, especially if they know that you are their biological mother. Yet, this doesn’t mean that your child can’t ever meet your family and form a relationship with them in the future.
What Types of Decisions Can My Family Help Make?
Your family can be involved in your adoption plan in whatever way you would like. If you want your family to solely be a support system for you, we will encourage you to discuss the ways in which they can provide you with the encouragement you will need throughout the journey. If you would like your family to assist you in making difficult decisions, they can be present through every step of your adoption process and provide you with their opinions and insight. We won’t force you to include them in your adoption plan, but if you have a positive relationship with them and would like their support, you can discuss with them all the different ways they can help.
What Can I Tell My Family If They Ask How They Can Help?
This is really up to you and your specific needs. If you are more independent and would like them to take a step back, make sure you discuss with them a few ways they can help without getting in your way. However, there are lots of ways that your family can help if you desire their assistance throughout the entire process. Your family can help you choose a future family for your baby and can even meet the family that you choose together in order to get to know your baby’s future parents. Your family might hold a perspective that is different from yours, and gaining their valuable input may assist you in making a well-rounded decision. Your family can also help you craft your entire adoption plan, including logistical aspects like which hospital you will give birth in. When it comes time to give birth, your family can be right there by your side to offer support. If the adoption process is difficult for both you and your family to cope with following your child’s placement, there are counseling services provided to bring healing to you and those close to you.
What If I’m Not Close With My Family, But I Want Additional Support?
Don’t worry if you don’t have a family to support you or don’t feel comfortable involving your family in the adoption process. Our adoption counselors are eager to come alongside you through every step of the process, help you make difficult decisions, and provide you with support and care. Though they aren’t related to you by blood, we believe that through the adoption process, you will find that they will become like family to you. Additionally, you may want to turn to a close friend to partner with you throughout your adoption journey. Just like a family member, they can be as involved as you want and may provide you with the emotional support and stability you need through such a difficult process. If you have additional questions, make sure to reach out to our Wichita location, where we are willing and ready to help you in any way we can.
Adoption Choices of Kansas serves birth parents statewide and beyond, please call us or text us to learn more! Call Us at 877-903-4488 or Text Us 316-209-2071
Meet the author: Kyla’s life has been filled with adventure and transition – both good and difficult. She loves to take on challenges head-on and lead an organized and balanced life. She’s passionate about many different areas and loves how writing gives her the flexibility to engage in research of almost every field of study imaginable. She grew up very involved in theater and music and continues to use her free time to play the piano and sing. However, she is also very interested in how the natural world works and takes any chance she has to spend the day away from crowds, enveloped in the seclusion of nature. Growing up in the Philippines, she’s had some unique experiences that have shaped her worldview and given her a deeper understanding and appreciation for different cultures. She gets excited about research papers, completed to-do lists, and her morning coffee.
