Adoption for Your Child: The Process at the Hospital 

By Megan Kostraba

Welcoming a new child into the world is a unique, exciting, and difficult experience! It can even become more difficult when you are choosing to place that child up for adoption. Being pregnant and dealing with pregnancy can be full of unknown, unpredictable situations. The last thing we want you to worry about after delivering a baby is the adoption process. Here at Adoption Choices of Arizona, we can help with that. 

Many expectant women and birth mothers want to know what is going to happen at the hospital when they choose to place their baby up for adoption. It’s understandable! We want your birth journey to be comfortable and secure, and more importantly, we want you to feel prepared for the processes that will follow. Working alongside an agency for your adoption will ensure that you have a team of people behind you to help with all of the unknowns that come with pregnancy. 

Preparing Your Adoption Plan

When you choose to reach out to one of our agencies in Arizona, our goal is to make your adoption process as seamless as possible. We know that choosing adoption is hard enough, and we want to ease your mind throughout the rest of your pregnancy. Before you get to the hospital to give birth to your child, we will create an adoption plan that is unique and individual to your needs. Preparing yourself for your labor and hospital delivery is all a part of your adoption plan, also known as your hospital plan. 

This plan will prepare you for the day you are in the delivery room. With the help of your adoption specialist, your hospital plan will outline all the steps you want your adoption to proceed. It’s important to remember that your needs, wants, and wishes will be accounted for! Whether it’s open or closed adoption, whether you want contact with your child, or whether you need financial aid, it will all be laid out for you. 

When it comes down to your hospital experience, it is really all up to your preferences! There are a lot of decisions to make, but you can take the time to make your choices alongside your adoption specialist.

We have different adoption agencies in Arizona that you can reach out to at any time to meet with and discuss your options. 

Hospital Plan and Experience

As mentioned above, your adoption specialist will lay out some of the decisions you have to make for your hospital plan. You can find some of those questions below! 

1. Who will be in the delivery room with you?

This is a very personal choice that is different for every expectant birth mother. You can bring in your own family members to support you during childbirth, or you can have the adoptive family alongside you. This is entirely up to you. Some expectant mothers who are placing their baby up for adoption want a close relationship with the prospective family. Others may wish to have no relationship—no contact—with the adoptive family, and that’s okay too. All of this is decided and discussed with you and your adoption specialist beforehand, so when the day comes, whoever you want in the room with you will be there. 

2. Will you have someone cut the cord, or do you want to? 

Again, this is a very personal choice. Some birth mothers wish to hold their child in their hands after they have given birth. Some wish to cut the cord themselves, while others wish to have more of a closed encounter with their child. Other birth mothers even want the adoptive families to be there to cut the cord to feel a part of the moment. Whether you want your birth to be a private moment or a shared one, this choice is yours. You have time to make all of these decisions beforehand—our ultimate goal is to make sure that your hospital stay is comfortable and secure. 

3. Do you wish to hold your child after giving birth? 

While you did give birth to this child, some birth mothers wish to have no contact with them. We understand! The adoption process itself is a personal one, and if you do not want to hold your child after birth, we can recognize your limits. Holding your child can make a connection that you may not be ready for, and we can adjust to whatever your needs are. On the other hand, some birth mothers do wish to hold their child after birth—again, either option is okay! Choosing to hold or not to hold your child does not affect the adoption process itself, as we can ensure that your child will be with a loving and caring family. This is the ultimate goal of any adoption. 

4. What overall interactions can you expect during your hospital stay?

This is something you and your adoption specialist will discuss in depth. Your hospital stay is your time, and you can choose what to do with it! Whether you wish the adoptive family to be there or not, whether you wish for the baby to be in the room with you, it is up to you. We want you to make these decisions beforehand because we understand that childbirth is an emotional and difficult period of time, and having to make choices like these during the moment might just add unneeded stress. We want you to feel prepared for the processes that will arise during your adoption. 

Post-Placement: What happens after the baby is born? 

Your adoption agency will be with you before, during, and after childbirth. Your adoption specialist and social worker will come to visit you in the hospital to make sure everything is going according to your adoption plan. Remember, we are here and available to offer all the pregnancy help we can, and that includes post-birth too. 

After giving birth, you can expect your specialist to visit the next day to see how your recovery is going. We want you to feel comfortable with the ways that your adoption plan is going, and if you feel unsure, we can help you go through all your options to find the best one. Once you feel comfortable about the adoption plan, you and your specialist will go over relinquishment documents and paperwork. This paperwork is ultimately signed by you and then the adoptive family. Your specialist will be right there with you, guiding you through the paperwork and ensuring that your adoption plan is what you want it to be. 

We are Here to You Throughout Your Entire Adoption Journey

Once you return home, we can still provide you with support and services. You will never be alone during this process, and we, at Adoption Choices of Arizona can help you every step of the way. There will be a discussion of the services we can provide between you and your specialist, including financial support, transportation, and even counseling services. 

Making the decision to place your baby up for adoption is a difficult one, but you can find support from any agency near you. The last thing we want you to feel is alone and unsupported during this time in your life. Discussing your options, wants, and needs with an adoption specialist will lay out your adoption plan in front of you, so you can anticipate every next step of the process. Reach out to any adoption agencies in Arizona for any other questions you have, and remember that you are our priority.