November is National Adoption Awareness Month, a time dedicated to amplifying the voices of those connected to adoption and educating people on all of its nuances—and its necessity. At Spence-Chapin, we believe that every child deserves a family, and adoption is a path that makes this possible.
We also advocate for open adoption whenever possible, and want to use this month to focus on its benefits as well as its challenges. While open adoptions can be difficult, research shows that it can be beneficial to all members of the adoption constellation: birth parents, adoptive parents, and the adopted child.
Open adoption gives birth parents the opportunity to stay in contact with an adoptive family.
The level of contact is completely up to the birth and adoptive parents and can range from letters and emails, phone calls and shared pictures, to in-person visits.
Open adoption is not co-parenting. It’s a chance for birth and adoptive families to develop a relationship that will benefit the adopted child, and often benefits them too.
While all open adoptions look different, it can be helpful to hear from families directly to understand why they chose this path. We recently had a birth mother, Noelle, reach out to us and share her story. It’s one of resilience, compassion, and love.
We have seen firsthand from people like Noelle how beneficial open adoptions can be, but it’s equally supported by research studies and empirical evidence.
Among both adoptive parents and birth parents, more openness resulted in increased satisfaction with the adoption process.
Birth parents who chose to have an open adoption reported less worry and regret, and were able to process their grief more easily than those who did not.
Adolescent adoptees who had ongoing contact with their birth parents were more satisfied with their adoption than those without contact.
FACT: Today, the vast majority of adoptions are open. In a study conducted by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, only 5 percent of respondents in a survey said that they had a closed adoption.
FACT: In open adoption, the adoptive parents are the sole custodians and are the ones in control of their child’s welfare. The birth parents may play an active role in the child’s life, but the legal rights remain in the hands of the adoptive parents.
FACT: Children are not confused by having contact with their birth family. Even at an early age, children can understand different roles and responsibilities. Further, while all members in an open adoption are shown to benefit from the relationship, it is adoptees that benefit the most over time.
Check out more open adoption myths & facts in this blog post.
Bringing awareness to this can allow more birth parents to feel like adoption is an option.
It helps them understand that they don’t need to give up all of their baby…
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