When you’re a woman faced with an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy in Delaware, knowing what to do or where to turn can be daunting. The first thing you’ll want to do is figure out what options there are for you in your situation — and this guide will help you do just that.

In Delaware, you have three options:

• Parenting your child
• Giving your baby up for adoption
• Having an abortion

It’s up to you to decide what option is best for you, and that will look different for every expectant mother in Delaware. Your pregnancy, especially when it is unexpected, is a personal situation, which is why it should only be you deciding how you respond and move forward.

While there are three different options for you to choose from for your unplanned pregnancy, this guide will focus on the process of how to go about giving your baby up for adoption in Delaware. Though adoption in Delaware is not an easy choice, this guide will walk you through the steps and explain how giving your baby up for adoption can be the best option for you and your child.

Knowing what resources are available to you in Delaware can help make your unplanned pregnancy decision easier. Out of everything, though, you should know where to go and who to turn to for the support, safety, and encouragement you need in light of a difficult situation.

If you would like to speak with an adoption specialist today, you can contact us online for more information about how to give a baby up for adoption in Delaware.

“Placing” vs. “Giving Up:” What it Means to Choose Adoption in Delaware

If you’re considering adoption for your unplanned pregnancy in Delaware, you will learn early on how important terminology and wording are when talking about adoption with others. When you’re talking with others about adoption, you’re more likely to hear people say “I’m giving my baby up for adoption,” or “She gave her baby up for adoption.”

What you need to remember as an expectant mother, “giving your baby up for adoption” is a deeply personal, emotional, and selfless decision. It might be the biggest decision you could ever make in your life. There is nothing to suggest you are “giving up” by choosing adoption for your baby. In truth, what you are giving your baby by choosing adoption is the opportunity for a better life.

Those who don’t have a connection with adoption don’t understand how important the terminology is when talking about it with someone else who does have that connection, and they could unintentionally hurt their feelings.

Instead of saying “give a baby up for adoption,” consider using and encouraging others to use phrases like:

• Place a baby for adoption
• Choose adoption
• Make an adoption plan

Throughout this article, whenever we use “giving a baby up for adoption” in this guide, we put the phrase in quotation marks. We know that adoption is not “giving up,” but we also understand this particular phrase is more commonly spoken and allows information to be more accessible to everyone.

You should feel encouraged and celebrated when you choose adoption in Delaware. It’s a difficult decision for many women, and you should always feel proud of and supported for your choice to “give your baby up for adoption.”

Putting a Child Up for Adoption in Delaware [5 Steps]

The process for how to “give a baby up” for adoption in Delaware is lengthy and detailed. If you are still only considering adoption and haven’t made a full decision yet, the best way to start your research on adoption in Delaware is by learning about the adoption process.

One of the most important things for you to know about adoption in Delaware is that it’s never too late to choose adoption — even when you arrive at the hospital for delivery. This is your baby, and you have the final say in what you want to do.

How to go about “giving your baby up” for adoption in Delaware involves five primary steps, and you’ll start with making the actual decision on whether adoption is the best option for you. As you work through the rest of the Delaware adoption process, you can have the opportunity to work with an adoption specialist who can be there to answer your questions, help you with making decisions along the way, and simply support you.

Here is a general overview of each step so you can have a better understanding of the process of “giving a baby up” for adoption in Delaware:

Step 1: Deciding if Adoption is the Right Option for You

For many birth mothers, the decision to “give a baby up” for adoption in Delaware doesn’t always come to light immediately. Unplanned pregnancies bring a lot of emotions and stress, so it can be difficult knowing if you’re making the right choice in “giving your baby up” for adoption in Delaware. Not only are you making a big decision like adoption for you, but you also have to consider what is going to be best for your baby.

Adoption brings a lot with it – all of the emotions involved; all of the pros and cons; and even the detailed process. When you choose “giving your baby up for adoption” as your unplanned pregnancy option, you’re making possibly the biggest decision you will ever make in your life.

There are many reasons you could be considering adoption as the right option for you and your baby, including:

• You can’t afford to be a parent right now.
• You don’t have the support of the prospective birth father.
• You’re still in school and believe you’re too young to raise a child.
• Your baby has needs you feel you can’t meet.
• You don’t want to choose abortion or parenting.
• And more

Ultimately, no matter what option you choose for your unplanned pregnancy in Delaware, the choice is only yours to make. The right people and organizations are always out there ready to help you through your decision, especially if you choose “giving your baby up” for adoption.

By taking the time to research what resources are available to you and weigh the pros and cons with your decision, choosing adoption for your baby is a completely selfless and loving act. To learn more about the adoption process in Delaware, you can contact us online to speak with an adoption professional today.

Step 2: Creating Your Adoption Plan

If you’ve decided to move forward with “giving your baby up” for adoption in Delaware, the next step of your adoption process will be creating an adoption plan. Many women who choose adoption also decide to work with an adoption agency, as the agency can provide birth mothers with many benefits.

By working with an adoption agency for your Delaware adoption, you’ll be able to create your adoption plan with the help of an adoption specialist. Your adoption plan is a detailed guide of how you want your adoption to proceed, based on your preferences and choices. Some of the choices you’ll make on your adoption plan include:

• The adoptive family for your baby
• How you want your hospital experience to be
• What kind of post-placement communication and contact you want
• And more

Adoption is a difficult decision to make, and having to make more decisions about your baby’s future can take its toll. Having an adoption specialist help you through your adoption plan allows you to have them make any decisions for your plan on your behalf. Your adoption specialist will take your preferences and desires into account and will help take the heaviness of making those decisions off of you.

Here are some adoption agencies you can contact to get more information about “giving your baby up” for adoption in Delaware:

• American Adoptions
• Madison Adoption Associates
• Adoptions from the Heart

Step 3: Choosing the Adoptive Parents

While you’re working the process of how to “give your baby up” for adoption in Delaware, your adoption specialist will provide you with adoptive family profiles to review. These profiles are helpful when choosing the adoptive family for your baby. You’ll inform your adoption specialist of the criteria you’re looking for in the right adoptive family and the profiles will be of families who meet your criteria.

The type of adoption agency you work with when you’re “giving your baby up” for adoption in Delaware will determine how many adoptive family profiles you’ll have to look at. Small, local adoption agencies tend to be more focused on in-state families, so you wouldn’t have as many profiles to review as you would with larger, national adoption agencies that work with families across the country.

If you choose the adoptive family for your baby before the birth, you have the opportunity to meet the family. You do not have to use this opportunity, but many birth mothers choose to so they can get to know the family they’ve chosen to raise their baby and start building a relationship with them. Your adoption specialist and adoption agency can assist with any communication or contact you want to have with the adoptive family.

Keep in mind that you also can change your mind about the adoptive family. If you decide the one you chose doesn’t quite match what you’re looking for in an adoptive family for your baby, you can work with your adoption specialist to view more adoption profiles to find a different family. In Delaware, every woman considering adoption has the right to change her mind throughout her adoption process until it is legally finalized.

Step 4: Creating Your Birth Plan [Preparing for the Big Day]

Once you’ve chosen the adoptive family for your baby, the next step in your plan for “giving your baby up” for adoption in Delaware will be creating your hospital plan. This plan focuses on your hospital stay and what you want your hospital experience to be when the day arrives.

Many adoption professionals recommend putting together your hospital plan earlier in your pregnancy to allow you more time to focus on the health of you and your baby. It’s also important that the adoptive family and hospital you choose to deliver at know of your hospital plan in time so they know what your decisions and processes are to be when the time comes.

You’ll work with your adoption specialist to create your hospital plan, and you’ll make decisions like:

• Which hospital you want to deliver and stay at during that time
• How much time you want to spend with your baby and the adoptive family
• Who you want with you at the hospital during the birth and the time afterward
• And more

Your hospital plan is only yours to create; no one else can make decisions for you for your hospital plan without your consent. With that, you can also make any modifications you want or need to on your hospital plan, even after you’ve arrived at the hospital.

Because you chose “giving your baby up” for adoption, every decision along the way is solely yours to make. As the birth mother, you’re making every decision you see as the best option for you and your baby. Take the time to research your options for hospitals and medical centers so you are supported and cared for during your delivery and time after.

Step 5: Adjusting to Life after Placement

After the adoption has been finalized, you will begin the adjustment period of your life after your baby has been placed with their adoptive family. As “giving your baby up” for adoption is an emotional decision, with the right support, this time in your life can be very rewarding and full of healing.

When you’re working through your Delaware adoption plan, you’ll spend time choosing whether you want any kind of communication and relationship with your child and the adoptive family. There are different types of adoption relationships you can have:

• Open adoption
• Closed adoption
• Semi-open adoption

Depending on how much contact you want with your child and their adoptive parents after placement, you’ll have a better idea of what kind of relationship you want to have.

Some birth parents find comfort in open adoptions, as they can continue to communicate and spend time with the adoptive family and your child as they grow up. However, some birth parents don’t want any contact with their baby or the adoptive family, even during the adoption process, so they choose a closed adoption. Both of these adoption relationships have their pros and cons.

If you’re struggling to decide what you want, there is always the option of a semi-open adoption, which gives you some communication with your child and the adoptive family while also allowing you the privacy you may be wanting from a closed adoption.

It’s important to make sure you do your research to understand what each type of adoption relationship offers you long-term. You have the final say on this matter, just like with every other part of your Delaware adoption. Take your time to consider what you’re truly wanting.

Taking Your Next Steps

When you choose to “give a baby up” for adoption in Delaware, there is a lot to consider before you should make your final decision. Choosing adoption for your baby can mean finding comfort and peace of mind knowing that your decision is out of love and a selfless choice.

Support is out there, regardless of what you decide to do when you’re facing an unplanned pregnancy in Delaware. There are adoption professionals who are ready to discuss adoption in Delaware and can provide you with the right resources and information.

If you would like to connect with an adoption professional now, you can contact us online today.