Finding a Newborn Adoption Agency

Adopting a newborn baby is an exciting and emotional journey. Whether you have always dreamed of growing your family through adoption, or have faced years of infertility, the path to parenthood is one that takes plenty of patience, resilience, and love. Right now, you likely have many questions about the process including, “Where do we start?” The best place to start is with a local, and trustworthy, adoption agency that is experienced in newborn adoptions. Here, we examine what prospective parents should consider before adopting a baby, and before choosing the right newborn adoption agency.

There are many pathways to adopting a baby in MA today, including private, international, and foster care adoption. Before you begin your adoption journey, it is important to carefully consider your wishes and needs, to determine the best path for you and your family. If your heart is set on adopting a newborn baby in the U.S., you will want to choose a private, domestic adoption agency. Private adoption is the only type of adoption that promises prospective adoptive families a newborn baby.

Adoptions With Love is a fully-licensed, private, non-profit, domestic adoption agency that works with expectant/birth parents from all over the country, and with hopeful adoptive parents in Massachusetts. For those looking to adopt in the Bay State, this means that the search pool is much bigger, and that a match can happen more quickly than with national adoption agencies.

Of course, preparing to adopt a newborn baby means preparing the same way any prospective parents would before bringing home their bundle of joy. To prepare for your little one, you should:

• Prepare to care for a newborn – Take a parenting class and read the baby books. Get yourself ready for things like overnight feedings, diaper changes, colic, teething, bathing, spit-up, and more. If you work with a private, full-service adoption agency, they can help out with some of the preparation
• Find a Pediatrician
• Take an infant CPR class
• If returning to work after baby’s big arrival, determine your employer’s family leave policy
• Make a plan for childcare, should you need it
• Register for/purchase baby items, if this is your first child
• Baby-proof your home
• Think about a name for your baby
• Plan an adoption announcement

Finding the Adoption Agency That Fits

Some private adoption agencies like Adoptions With Love provide adoptive families with their own adoption social worker,, whom they will work with throughout the entire adoption process. This social worker  is the person who will walk you through every step leading up to, and long after, getting that beautiful baby placed in your loving arms. Along the way, there will be many experts; at Adoptions With Love we take the lead with social workers, attorneys, and hospital staff, who will help you reach your goal of adopting your baby. All of these services are part of the adoption experience. In our full service program, your agency social worker  will be there to coordinate these meetings and answer any questions or concerns you may have.

An important element of the newborn adoption process today is the level of communication birth parents maintain with the adoptive families, not only during pregnancy, but also after the adoption is complete. Most adoptions today are open, meaning there is some set relationship between the birth mother and adoptive family. Post-adoption contact can vary greatly, depending on each family and situation. It can involve email updates, phone conversations, texting, Skyping, or even in-person visits. Open adoption has proven to greatly benefit the child, and therefore the adoptive family, which is why most adoptions today involve some level of openness.

About five percent of adoptions today are closed adoptions. A closed adoption plan means there is no contact between birth families and adoptive families. They are usually anonymous, meaning little to no identifying information is shared between families, even before the birth takes place.

A semi-open adoption falls somewhere in between an open and closed adoption plan. These plans involve some, but less, communication with the adoptive family. They usually involve the exchange of letters and pictures through an adoption agency, without the in-person contact. The children involved do not normally have any direct contact with their birth parents.

As an open adoption agency, every prospective adoptive family at Adoptions With Love agrees to at least a semi-open adoption. Most families are now open to some direct, ongoing communication with the birth parents as well. As noted above, open adoption has been highly successful in creating happy adoptive families. Over 97 percent of adopted children over the age of five know that they were adopted, and near 85 percent of children in open adoptions are highly satisfied with their adoption experience. The more disclosed (open) an adoption is, the higher the levels of satisfaction are, according to recent research. The proof is in the pudding!

As you set out on this incredible journey of adopting your newborn baby, it is important to remember that it is an experience that should be joyful and positive. You should feel comfortable with the newborn adoption agency you choose. The organization should feel honored to work with you. They should offer you assistance in all areas of the adoption journey, including legal assistance when finalizing the adoption of your baby, as part of their services scope. Because an adoption home study is required in Massachusetts and many states, it is important to also look for a newborn adoption agency that is licensed to conduct home study services in MA.

At Adoptions With Love, we understand what a truly amazing opportunity it is to connect families with their children, and we work to continue the success of every single adoption we arrange for many years after the paperwork is signed. If you are hoping to adopt a newborn in Massachusetts, please contact us anytime, day or night, with your questions. You can also call us at 617-964-4357 to get started.