What’s the Difference Between Open Adoption and Closed Adoption in Arizona?
If you are experiencing an unplanned pregnancy, adoption is a great choice for you and your baby. You give a family the opportunity to start or expand their family while giving your baby up a loving and supportive home. At Adoption Choices of Arizona, we can help you navigate your adoption journey.
When you choose adoption for your baby, you are relinquishing your parental rights. While this may sound scary or intimidating, it’s all part of the process. Legally waiving your parental rights doesn’t mean you’ll have no access to your child; on the contrary, the amount of interaction you will have with your child depends on the type of adoption you choose. There are three primary types of adoption: open, semi-open, and closed. For the purposes of this article, we will be focusing on the differences between open and closed adoptions.
If you need adoption help now, please call or text us at 1-480-900-5520 or visit us at Adoption Choices of Arizona.
What is an Open Adoption?
Open adoption is exactly like it sounds, open. Open adoptions involve open communication between you and the adoptive family about the child. This communication can consist of phone calls, emails, letters, or sporadic visits throughout the child’s life. You can be as involved as you would or would not like; your level of involvement is entirely up to you.
Besides being present in your child’s life, you also have control over who adopts your baby. You will be able to pick your baby’s adoptive family through a selection of adoptive family profiles. We don’t rush or force you into choosing an adoptive family, and if you don’t like the initial selection, we will provide you with more options.
You will also be able to develop a relationship with your child’s adoptive parents. Open adoptions benefit the child, the birth mother, and the adoptive parents. Both parties can be a type of support system for each other during this journey; adoption is a journey between you and the adoptive parents, a journey that lasts up to 18 years. The child can have the support of multiple adults who love and care for him or her while also receiving financial and emotional stability from their adoptive family. There are truly no negatives regarding an open adoption, but there’s also nothing wrong with choosing a closed adoption if that is what works best for you.
What is a Closed Adoption?
Closed adoptions were the first type of adoption. They existed originally to conceal children born of unwed mothers, but that has completely changed in the 21st century; the main benefit of closed adoption is privacy for the birth mother. Closed adoptions involve no communication whatsoever between you and the adoptive family. The only information the adoptive parents and your child will receive about you is your medical history. A closed adoption is a great option if you want your privacy and don’t want a personal relationship with your child, which is perfectly okay.
Closed adoptions also make it easier for birth mothers to receive emotional closure. You’ve already made the difficult yet brave decision to put your child up for adoption. You may choose adoption for your baby because you don’t have the financial or emotional capacity to care for a child, and you don’t want to be involved in his or her life. A closed adoption will prevent your child and/or their adoptive parents from being able to contact you in the future.
Unfortunately, you won’t receive updates regarding your child’s development, but you can be assured that your child is in good hands. All of our prospective adoptive parents go through a background check to ensure they can financially and emotionally support a child.
Placing My Baby For Adoption in Arizona
There are no negatives when you choose the Arizona adoption process, whether you choose open or closed adoption. Adoption is a gift for your child and their adoptive parents. If you are interested in placing your child for adoption, we have three offices in Arizona: Phoenix, Tucson, and Flagstaff. All of our Adoption Choices of Arizona staff are ready to help you through this journey and are available via phone or our website.
For adoption resources or to begin your adoption journey, birth parents can visit us at Adoption Choices of Arizona or call or text us at 1-480-900-5520. If you are a prospective adoptive family hoping to adopt a baby, please instead, visit us here!
Meet the Author: Rayna Batiste is an alumna of the University of West Florida with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. Having graduated with honors, she hopes to attend graduate school at New York University, majoring in Journalism. Rayna is also a United States Air Force veteran who enjoys watching documentaries about pretty much any subject, learning, and spending quality time with her family and friends. She is also a fitness enthusiast and an avid Peloton user.
Her hobbies include brunch (yes, brunch is a hobby), fashion, makeup, and of course, reading and writing. Rayna has a real passion for the written word and correct grammar and syntax. She enjoys manipulating sentence structure and experimenting with punctuation in her writing. She’s what you would call a “werd nerd.” She was also recently featured at the Pensacola Museum of Art for her work, entitled Triangular Geometry.
