Birth Mother Support Groups and Adoption Agency Support Post-Placement in Arizona
By Ryan Yau
If you are facing an unplanned pregnancy, you may be considering adoption as an option for your child. You may want to know what support you receive throughout the adoption process, including after your child has been placed.
Adoption Choices of Arizona offers many services to birth mothers choosing adoption. We are committed to helping you throughout the entire adoption process, even after your adoption has been finalized. Two forms of support you can take advantage of are birth mother support groups and post-placement support.
Birth Mother Support Groups
Many birth mothers who go through the process of adoption experience a form of grief. The feeling is similar to grief you may experience when losing a loved one, even if your child is not physically gone. However, pregnancy creates a uniquely strong bond between mother and child. Therefore, upon separation, birth mothers can still feel grief even if the child is newly born.
For many women, joining a birth mother support group is a good way to help process these emotions. By meeting others who have similar experiences, you can work through these feelings and find a sense of community. You should not have to face the adoption process alone, even after the adoption has been finalized. With an adoption agency in Arizona, you can find and join a birth mother support group.
Post-placement Support for Birth Mothers
Aside from support groups, Adoption Choices of Arizona offers services for birth mothers after your child has been placed. The support begins by creating an adoption plan. We provide you with the assistance of an adoption specialist who can inform you about the adoption process. Once you find an adoption agency near you, we can help you plan your adoption to fit your needs. Of course, you are free to modify elements of the plan at any stage of the adoption process.
Your adoption plan covers any medical and financial requirements you may have. We can help you find a prenatal doctor to monitor you throughout pregnancy and ensure you are keeping healthy. You can also choose things such as who you want in the delivery/waiting room and who can hold your baby.
In terms of financial support, we want to make sure that you are not stressed about finances during pregnancy. We can help with things such as food, rent, and clothing by helping you apply for government stamps and benefits.
Legal Support for Birth Mothers
Throughout the adoption process, you will need to meet some legal requirements. For example, to place your baby for adoption, you need to terminate your parental rights in front of a judge. You may also have issues regarding the birth father offering consent or adoption across state lines.
However, you don’t need to worry about tackling these legal issues alone. We additionally provide birth mothers with the assistance of an adoption attorney to help with the legal aspects of adoption. Your attorney will also help you receive financial assistance that you may be eligible for.
Should I Seek Birth Mother Support Groups and Post-Placement Support?
Even if these services are offered to birth mothers, you may be hesitant about taking advantage of them. We want to repeat that these services are free for birth mothers, so you should not worry about costs. However, you still may have concerns about these forms of support.
You may feel you don’t have time to join a birth mother group or are uncomfortable with the idea. However, there are other ways to help with birth mother grief. If you are concerned that you will miss your child too much, you may want to opt for an open adoption. In an open adoption, you exchange contact information with your child’s adoptive family. This means you can visit them after they have been placed. For many birth mothers, this can be reassuring and help with feelings of separation.
If you are concerned that support groups will not help you through grief, we still recommend you try joining one. Even if a particular group isn’t a match, there are many others that you can join through agencies in Arizona.
You may also hold some general stigmas about adoption that make you hesitant to receive support. One unfair misconception is that mothers who place a baby for adoption are selfish or lazy. However, acknowledging that you can’t or don’t want to raise a baby is what’s best for everyone. Not only do you provide your child with a loving home, but you give others the opportunity to raise a child. By reframing how you see adoption, it may make it easier to receive support from others.
Taking Advantage of Support Throughout the Adoption Process
If you are a birth mother looking into adoption, Adoption Choices of Arizona can inform you about the support available for you during and after the adoption process.
