An unplanned pregnancy can bring up many different emotions.
When Cricket unexpectedly discovered that she was pregnant, she decided immediately to make an adoption plan for her baby.
Cricket says, “I’d gone through a bad break-up with the birth father and was in no position to raise a child at that point in my life.”
Soon after she made her decision she learned that her neighbors were interested in adopting a baby because they were having trouble having a baby biologically. She and the adoptive family enlisted the help of Adoption Connection to help complete the adoption.
As an adoption agency in California, Adoption Connection offers free and confidential counseling services for pregnant women who are thinking about how to give up baby for adoption — or as Adoption Connection puts it— placing a baby in an adoptive home.
One of the legal requirements of adoption is that every pregnant woman sees a social worker for counseling at least twice during their adoption process. The role of the social worker is to advise her of their rights and all her available options (if the biological father is living with/or married to the birthmother he is also required to receive counseling).
Getting emotional support.
Many women use counseling to cope with the range of emotions during and after pregnancy. Even women who feel secure about choosing adoption for their baby can still benefit from counseling. Adoption Connection prepares birthmothers, like Cricket, for feelings of sadness and grief that can to occur after the baby is born.
Randie Bencanann, co-director of Adoption Connection, says, “If a woman is at all unsure about her decision about adoption, it’s better for her to resolve her feelings sooner rather than later when everyone has become emotionally invested in the placement of the baby. Counseling can be a real help.”
By visiting with a counselor, pregnant women can discuss fears about giving birth, work out her relationship with the adoptive parents, or address concerns she may have with the birthfather or other family members.
“For me, it was the difficulties I was having with the birthfather,” says Cricket, “Talking with a counselor helped me resolve a lot of anger and get on with my life.”
Adoption Connection provides free counseling services to pregnant women.
Adoption Connection counselors lend emotional support and provide information, and may also serve as mediators between birthparents and adoptive parents to help with communication and work out any problems to ensure that everyone feels comfortable.
In Cricket’s adoption she feels that the process went well. She has kept in touch with the adoptive family by phone and occasional visits and she never wavered from her initial resolve to place her baby in an adoptive home.
Cricket feels that the way everything worked out was “meant to be.”
Even after an adoption is final, Adoption Connection has free and confidential counseling available if she may want support dealing with issues around her baby or the adoptive family. We also offer support groups to birth parents in Northern California so they can connect and gain support from each other.
All of Adoption Connection’s services are free and confidential, including counseling for women who are pregnant and looking for nonjudgmental support and advice.
For more information on Adoption Connection’s services, and FAQ’s on how to place or give up baby for adoption, please contact us.
