You Are Not “Giving Up” by Choosing Adoption

Giving a baby up for adoption isn’t giving up! In the very least it is giving life. Birth mothers have thought long and hard about their adoption plans. They sometimes spend months planning how the adoption will go. Birthmothers are just trying to choose the best life for their child, they are not giving their baby up. It takes an incredible amount of courage to say that you might not be what is best at this time, and that you want more for your child then what you can give them right now.

The term “giving up” or “giving up a baby for adoption” can be read on websites, heard on TV shows and even be said in casual conversation among friends. However, that doesn’t make the term correct! It’s a negative term. Many times, the term “give up” is seen as a failure or to quit something.  Women who create an adoption plan do not “give up” anything, if anything they give.

Language used in adoption is important not only for the birth mother and family but also for the adoptee. The negative connotation of “giving up,” giving away, or “giving up a child for adoption” can cause lifelong hurt and shame for birth parents and adoptees. It leaves birth parents feeling guilty and like they did something wrong and for an adoptee it can leave them feeling like they were just given away with no thought.

Birth mothers make an adoption plan to give their children a life that they may not be able to give them themselves. They give the child stability, opportunities, a family who is ready and much more. Nothing about an adoption plan is giving up.

Adoption Minnesota, a local agency in Minnesota wants women to know that it is not giving up in any way. It is making a plan for your child that hopefully is best for both you and them. If you have any questions about the process or adoption, please contact us at 612-333-0593 or info@adoptionmn.com.