If you are experiencing an unplanned pregnancy and thinking about “giving your baby up” for adoption in Mississippi, then you are facing some important decisions. You are not alone, and there is information and support available to you.

If you are ready to speak with someone now, contact us online today.

You can find empathy, information, and guidance from adoption professionals during this time. Whether you have decided that you want to place your baby for adoption or you are considering your options, this support is available to you.

Adoption specialists want to help you find the best option for you. They will provide confidentiality and counsel you without any obligation for you to choose adoption.

This guide is a great starting point for you. It is designed to answer questions like:

• Is placing a baby for adoption in Mississippi right for me?
• How do I go about giving my baby up for adoption in Mississippi?
• What should I expect when I put my baby up for adoption in Mississippi?
• Do I get to choose a family if I “give my baby up” for adoption?

You Are Never “Giving Up” Your Baby

Before we say too much about adoption, it is important that we address the language that we often use to describe this incredibly brave choice. Placing a baby for adoption in Mississippi is a generous and mature choice, but often we reduce it to the idea of “giving up.”

Putting a baby up for adoption is absolutely not “giving up.” It is giving your child the life that you want for them. It is giving your child more opportunities. It is giving a hopeful adoptive couple a priceless gift. And it is giving yourself the opportunities that you deserve too.

“Giving up” a baby for adoption in Mississippi is a decision made by birth mothers who have an abiding love for their baby. Your choice is generous. Keep reading to learn more about how the adoption process works.

How to Put Your Baby Up for Adoption in Mississippi [5 Steps to Placing Baby for Adoption]

The professionals who you choose to work with will make all the difference in your adoption experience. You will want to make sure that your adoption agency is licensed, experienced, and available to you at any time. There are professionals who offer pre-adoption services, legal counsel, and post-adoption services. They will make sure that your pregnancy-related expenses are covered, that you are able to find the perfect adoptive family for your baby, and provide mediation when necessary.

No matter what professional organization you choose, they will guide you through these five basic steps of putting your baby up for adoption in Mississippi:

1. Decide that Adoption Is the Right Choice for You
2. Develop an Adoption Plan
3. Select the Perfect Adoptive Family
4. Get Ready for Placement
5. Adjust to Life After Adoption

Step 1: Decide that Adoption Is the Right Choice for You

The path from uncertainty about an unplanned pregnancy to the decision to place your child for adoption in Mississippi is not one to be glossed over. You are the best judge of what is right for you, and this decision is yours. Still, you are not alone. Adoption professionals can help you ask the right questions and make an informed choice.

Other resources that might help you make this decision are:

• A confidential, 24/7 hotline, like 1-800-ADOPTION
• Birth mother testimonials
• A conversation with a birth mother who has been in your position
• Unplanned pregnancy counseling

Step 2: Develop an Adoption Plan [You are in Control of Your Adoption]

Partnering with the right agency means that you will have an adoption specialist available to you to work through each of the questions that come up during your adoption process.

Your first task will be to create your adoption plan. The adoption plan will outline your preferences for each stage of placing your baby for adoption. This will ensure that your adoption experience is what you need it to be.

Some important components of your adoption plan will be:

• A description of the type of family you want for your child
• Your needs regarding communication with adoptive parents before the adoption
• A hospital plan that explains your labor, delivery, and post-birth preferences
• Your preferences in regard to a post-adoptive agreement: open adoption, semi-open adoption, or closed adoption

You are in the driver’s seat of your adoption. Your needs are essential and should guide the entire adoption process. An adoption specialist should respect your choices and help you to complete the adoption you need.

Step 3: Select the Perfect Adoptive Family [Placing Your Baby for Adoption in the Ideal Home]

Among the many choices you make when you “give your baby up” for adoption, maybe the most important is choosing an adoptive family for your child. There is a family who is perfect for you and your baby, and the right adoption agency can help you to find them.  

After hearing what you want in an adoptive family, your adoption specialist will search their database of families for a potential match. Then you will gain access to family profiles to review. The choice of a family for your child is yours to make, and you will be given the time you need to determine who will give your child the life that you want for them.

The family profiles you will receive might include:

• Pictures
• Description of the family lifestyle and personality
• Video interviews
• Reasons the couple wants to adopt
• Couple’s hopes and dreams for an adoptive child

Your first contact with a family will likely be a mediated phone call with your adoption specialist. Here, you can ask any questions you have. You are not committed to a family if you choose to talk with them.

After the conversation, you can choose to go forward with them or return to the family profiles. When you finally select a family, you will be on your way to placing your baby for adoption in Mississippi.

Are you ready to view some profiles today? You are in luck! We have partnered with a national adoption agency to bring you information about families who want to adopt. Click here to view profiles of some of these hopeful adoptive couples.  

Step 4: Get Ready for Placement

Only you know what you need during the time period between choosing the perfect family for your child and placing your baby for adoption in Mississippi.

For some birth mothers, it is important to have frequent contact with the adoptive family. Others need privacy during this time. This is a choice that only you can make, and it will likely depend on the openness that you desire in your adoption agreement.

Most birth mothers use this time to create a hospital plan, if it hasn’t already been developed. There is a lot to decide about your labor, delivery, and hospital contact. Here are some questions you might want to consider:

• Would you like the adoptive family in the delivery room with you? 
• Do you want friends and family to visit you in the hospital? 
• Would it benefit you to have some alone time with your baby after birth? 
• Do you want pictures with your baby or with the adoptive family? 
• Would you like to leave the hospital with your baby and the adoptive family? 

Following the birth of your child, you will sign your final adoption paperwork. This indicates your voluntary and legal consent to placing your child for adoption in Mississippi.

Step 5: Adjust to Life After Adoption [Post-Placement Support is Available to You]

The choice to put your baby up for adoption in Mississippi is not an easy one, and the post-adoptive period can be difficult for birth mothers. You will likely be experiencing common post-partum symptoms that every mother deals with on top of the sometimes challenging emotions that come with an adoption placement. Most birth mothers – however certain they are about their decision – go through a healing process in the weeks and months after their baby is born.

When working with the right agency, you will not be alone after the adoption process is complete. You will still receive the support you need from adoption professionals. If necessary, they can also direct you to other resources that are available to you.

Finding Support for “Giving Up” Your Baby for Adoption in Mississippi

The type of adoption agency that you partner with when you choose to place your baby for adoption in Mississippi will impact the kind of support you are given. One of the first choices you make will be whether you work with a national agency or a local agency, and it will benefit you to understand the services each provide.

National agencies work with birth mothers and hopeful adoptive families from across the country and often have more resources. This allows them to offer more services to birth mothers. The most notable difference between national and local agencies is that national agencies work with a much larger network of potential adoptive families. For you, this means that they can offer more adoption opportunities. You will likely have dozens of family profiles to choose from with a national agency.

National agencies that serve Mississippi birth mothers include:

• American Adoptions
• Gladney Center for Adoption
• Beacon House Adoptions

On the other hand, local agencies can sometimes offer you a more intimate experience. They work with adoptive families in your region and will likely offer you access to a handful of couples to choose from when it comes time to find a family for your child.

Local agencies that serve Mississippi birth mothers include:

• New Beginnings
• Catholic Charities
• Mississippi Children’s Home Services

Whoever you choose to work with, they will guide you through the five-step adoption process. This is your decision, and it is important that you are comfortable with the professionals you work with. 

For more information about how to put a baby up for adoption in Mississippi, contact us today to be connected with an adoption professional who will guide you. They will offer counsel, education, and support that will help you determine the path that is best for you. You are not alone when you choose to place your baby up for adoption.