August 2, 2022 In Birth Parents, Uncategorized, Unplanned Pregnancy By Amanda Warner

Looking to Give Your Baby up for Adoption?

Looking to give your baby up for adoption?

Here are 6 steps you may take if you have an unplanned pregnancy and want to work with a private adoption agency:

  1. Deciding adoption is right for you and your baby:

Before even starting the process of “giving a baby up” for adoption, you must take time to learn about the process and if adoption is right for you and your baby/child. Adoption Minnesota is a licensed adoption agency, who explains this process and works with women to educate them on adoption in a non-judging or pressuring way. We believe that you can’t make a decision about giving up your baby until you have all the facts.

  1. Create a private adoption plan for your baby:

At Adoption Minnesota we help you with your unplanned pregnancy. You can create a plan of how you want your adoption to go. You are in control and get to make many of the decisions about how you want the process to go. You get to decide how to go about putting your baby up for adoption in a way that you are comfortable with.

You will be assigned a counselor who will explain your options and go over what you are looking for in a family. They will help you create a hospital plan for labor and delivery along with a plan for openness or ongoing contact after placement.

  1. Choosing an Adoptive Family for your baby:

At Adoption Minnesota we feel that finding an adoptive family that you feel comfortable with is one of the most important parts to placing your baby for adoption. We know how much you love your baby, and therefore it is so important to find a family that you feel is a perfect fit.

All the families at the adoption agency have completed a home study and background checks to ensure they are stable, fully prepared to adopt, and will provide a safe home full of love for an adopted child.

You will be given the opportunity to go through all of our families and get to know them through emails, texts, phone calls and in person visits. Once you have chosen the family that you would like to place with, Adoption Minnesota helps you finish planning the rest of the adoption plan. With a private adoption agency like Adoption Minnesota, you are the one in charge when creating the adoption plan and giving up your baby.

  1. Give Birth/Delivery

The hospital experience will be planned out with your Adoption Minnesota counselor, who will coordinate this plan with your hospital of choice. Much like your adoption plan,  you have full control over your hospital stay. You get to decide if and how much time you want to spend with your baby and if and when you want the adoptive family to come to the hospital.

  1. Complete the Legal Steps to finalize the adoption plan.

Once your baby is born your Adoption Minnesota counselor and your adoption attorney will make sure you understand your rights and the legal aspects of finalizing the adoption.  They will make sure you’re comfortable with your decision before proceeding with the paperwork that gives your consent to the adoption, allowing the adoption to become final.

  1. After placement of your baby for adoption and ongoing contact:

Placing your child for adoption is just the beginning. Rather than “goodbye,” birth parents have the option to have openness and ongoing communication and visits after placement with their child and the adoptive family.

It is up to you to decide what kind of relationship you want to have with your child and the adoptive family after the adoption. Just as you get to decide how to “give up” your baby for adoption, you get to decide how you want your open adoption to look after placement.

  • Typically, women receive updates and photos of their child for 18 years.
  • Many also stay in contact with the adoptive family through emails, phone calls, text messages and social media updates.
  • Some plan in person visits once per year or more.

Adoption Minnesota hopes that this information was helpful. If you have any questions or want to learn more. Please reach out to us at www.adoptionmn.com or call at 612-333-0593!

May 26, 2020 In Birth Parents, Uncategorized, Unplanned Pregnancy By Amanda Warner

Important Factors to Remember When Giving up Your Baby for Adoption

Important Factors to Remember When Giving up Your Baby for Adoption

If you are thinking about giving your baby for adoption or placing your newborn or child for adoption there are many things you should know about your rights and the process before you start working with an adoption agency. Here at Adoption Minnesota we think that it is important to work with a private adoption agency who helps you through the adoption process in a caring, compassionate and non-pressuring manner. An adoption agency should be there to help you through the process, make sure your legal rights are followed and support you with each step of your journey. Here are some important rights to remember that you have during the process of giving up your baby for adoption.

  1. You have the right to receive FREE, in person adoption counseling.
    • Counseling for adoption should always be free. At Adoption Minnesota it is also free from pressure, and any influence. This should be your plan and an adoption agency should not push their agenda on you. If you chose to place your child for adoption, you also have the right to receive support after the adoption takes place for as long as you need it.
  1. You have the option to work with a licensed, nonprofit private adoption agency.
    • If you are thinking about placing or giving up your baby for adoption, keep in mind that not all adoption agencies are the same. Some unlicensed organizations and individuals earn a great deal of money by encouraging and pressuring women to place for adoption. Always ask the adoption agency you are working with if they are licensed for adoption in the state you live in.
  1. You can receive financial assistance if you choose to make an adoption.
    • If you decide that adoption is right for you and your child, you have the right to receive help financially. Adoptive parents can help with basic living and medical expenses during your pregnancy, and for up to 6 weeks after you deliver.
  1. You as the birth parent should be allowed to decide how you want your adoption to go.
    • If you decide that giving up your baby or placing for adoption is right for you, then you should be in control of how the adoption will proceed. You can decide who the adoptive family will be, how the hospital time will go, and also what you want for openness or contact after placement. An adoption agency should not pressure you to do it “their way.” At Adoption Minnesota every adoption is different, and unique. We feel that it is very important to support and help birth parents create an adoption plan that fits them and their child.
  1. You have the right to your own attorney and to have your legal rights represented at no cost to you.
    • If you are planning on placing for adoption or giving up your baby it is important that you have your own attorney. If you are not working with an adoption agency, we urge you not to waive your right to an attorney. Having your own attorney allows you to have the legal support you need, and also have the emotional knowing that you have someone on your side making sure your rights are respected and followed.
  1. You have the option to have a legally binding agreement about what kind of future contact you want with your baby.
    • A legal binding Contact Agreement lays out the details of what kind of contact birth parents, adoptive parents and your child will have after placement. Each Contact Agreement is different and not every state has them, but your agency should tell you about them and offer to get you in touch with an attorney to draft one if you would like.
  1. No matter what you should be respected, regardless of your decision.
    • Whether you decide to give up your baby for adoption or not, you should not be pressured or made to feel guilty by the agency or people that you are working with. Making a choice about adoption is a very difficult decision and you should be respected no matter what you decide. Adoption Minnesota supports women in whatever decision they make and are here to support them in the process.

If you have any questions or want to talk more about the adoption process please reach out to us at info@adoptionmn.com or www.adoptionmn.com.

August 1, 2018 In Adoptive Parents, Birth Parents, Uncategorized, Unplanned Pregnancy By Amanda Warner

Adoption is About Creating a Plan Not “Giving Up”

Adoption is About Creating a Plan for your Child not “Giving Up.”

We at Adoption Minnesota work hard to promote positive adoption language. If you are just beginning to look into adoption as a birth parent, adoptive parent or adoptee you may hear or read the term “give up”. While this is a common term used by modern society and the media it is actually not the preferred term. It does not positively and realistically speak about the adoption process. It tends to present an outdated version of the process.

Birth mothers are not “giving up” their babies. They are doing quite the opposite. They are creating very detailed plans for their children and making sure they are given the very best. It is a very tough decision made from their love and strength for their child. Using the words “give up” makes it seem like it’s a quick decision where a woman gives up her child without any thought or plan.

Thankfully women are no longer told that they must hand over or give up there babies without ever hearing from them again, never getting to know how they are doing or telling them how much they are loved.

Adoption truly has changed through the decades. Women are now able to create their adoptions to fit their needs. They get to plan how they want things to go. In many adoptions today women create their adoption plans and get to have on going contact with their children through pictures, updates and sometimes visits.

Adoption Minnesota, a private adoption agency in Minnesota and other adoption professionals advocate and prefer to use terms such as “place your baby for adoption,” or “create an adoption plan,” rather than “give up your baby.” We feel that it better reflects the work that goes into finding the right adoptive family and the birth mother’s strength, courage and love for her child.

If you want to talk about adoption, the process of have any questions please feel free to call us at 612-333-0593 or email us at info@adoptionmn.com.

March 14, 2017 In Adoptive Parents, Adoptive Parents Stories, Birth Parents, Birthmother Stories, Uncategorized, Unplanned Pregnancy By Adoption Minnesota

Jeff & Beth’s Adoption Story

It all began with a phone call from our Adoptive Parent Counselor and these words: “Hi, this is Robyn. I’ve got a situation that I’d like to talk to you about.” But wait… it didn’t all begin there… it began before that with an Orientation Meeting at Adoption Minnesota.

From the minute we walked into Adoption Minnesota, we knew that we were in the right place. We had visited other agencies, but none of them felt right, none of them felt like “us.” A friend of a friend told us about Adoption Minnesota. She had adopted her daughter through them and said so many positive things, we knew we had to check them out.READ MORE