Putting a baby up for adoption in Texas is brave and selfless because you’re making a sacrifice to give your child a bright future. Unplanned pregnancies happen. If you’ve unexpectedly become pregnant, placing your baby for adoption in Texas may be a viable option.

Placing your child for adoption can be an emotional journey, even if you know it’s your best option. Mothers who give up their babies in Texas act from a place of love. For many birth mothers, adoption offers a way to provide your child a great life with a wonderful family.

If you’ve thought about putting your baby up for adoption in Texas, you may have questions about the process, such as:

• How do you give your baby up for adoption in Texas?
• Can I get paid for giving up my baby for adoption?
• Do adoptive parents pay my birth expenses?
• How do you create a birth plan?
• What resources are available for mothers facing unplanned pregnancy?

You can get the answers to many of these questions by speaking to an adoption professional. Read more to learn about how to give a baby up for adoption in Texas.

Giving Up a Baby Isn’t Really “Giving Up”

You’ve probably heard the phrase “giving your baby up for adoption.” However, that common term can be misleading. Giving up your baby for adoption in Texas isn’t “giving up” at all. Giving a child up for adoption in Texas is actually giving your child the gift of a bright future in a loving adoptive home. It’s not “giving up” in any way.

Adoption is a brave, loving act done by a birth mother to benefit her child. Putting your baby up for adoption in Texas gives your child a stable home and a family that wants to offer love, greater opportunity, and a high quality of life.

In modern adoptions, many birth parents want to stay involved in their child’s life. Placing your baby for adoption in Texas through open or semi-open adoptions can give you that opportunity. Open adoptions allow contact between birth parents and their child, which gives you a chance to watch your child grow.

You can see that “giving up a baby” in Texas isn’t giving up at all. Adoption protects the best interest of your child by placing them in a stable home and with a welcoming family.

How to Put a Baby Up for Adoption in Texas [5 Steps]

So, how do you give a baby up for adoption in Texas? Each adoption is unique, but there are some common steps that every birth mother giving baby up for adoption in Texas experiences.

Before you place your baby for adoption, it’s a good idea to find an adoption agency that works with birth mothers. Birth mother adoption agencies provide the resources you need. They can help you decide if giving up a baby for adoption in Texas is your best path forward. You can find birth mother adoption agencies at this link or by contacting us. 

Read on to learn how to go about giving your baby up for adoption in Texas.

Step 1: Decide if Adoption is the Right Choice for You

An unexpected pregnancy is often stressful and overwhelming. However, there’s still hope. As a birth mother, you have options when an unexpected pregnancy occurs. Placing a baby up for adoption in Texas is just one of them.

Your first step is to evaluate your options and determine if placing your baby for adoption is right for you. For most expectant mothers, the choices include:

• Parenting
• Adoption
• Abortion

You and you alone have the right to choose which option is best.

Expectant mothers choose adoption for many different reasons, like:

• Putting your baby up for adoption in Texas provides the opportunity for your child to grow up in a great home.
• Adoption can also helps a family that wants to grow fulfill their dreams of raising a child.
• Open or semi-open adoption lets you remain in your child’s life, if you want.

The benefits of adoption are clear. If you believe that putting your baby up for adoption is the best way to create a better future, then you’re ready for the next step.

Step 2: Develop an Adoption Plan

As a prospective birth mother, you control every detail of your adoption. In that way, placing your baby for adoption can be empowering. Adoption laws in Texas related to placing baby for adoption protect your rights as the birth mother. You have a right to create an adoption plan and it will be followed throughout the process.

What’s an adoption plan? How do you create one? Your adoption plan is your blueprint for placing your baby for adoption in Texas. You have the right to choose each detail throughout the process.

As you design your unique adoption plan, you’ll benefit from the advice of an adoption professional. Your adoption agency will show you how to put a child up for adoption in Texas, help you understand your rights as the birth mother, and ensure your adoption plan is followed.

An adoption agency professional will ask you questions such as:

• What size family do you want for your child?
• How much and what kind of contact do you want with the adoptive family?
• How much contact will you want with your child?
• What are your expectations for the birth and hospital stay?
• And many more

Your answers will guide your adoption plan. Your adoption specialist will give you support and guidance along the way. Be sure to tell your adoption professional what you want so they can work with you to create a plan you’re comfortable with.

The adoption plan is the guidebook for your experience when putting your baby up for adoption. Don’t forget, you get the final say over everything when giving a baby up for adoption in Texas. If others don’t observe your wishes, you can stop the process or change adoptive parents at any point before adoption finalization.

The following agencies can help you develop an adoption plan:

• American Adoptions
• Lifetree Adoption Agency
• Texas Adoption Center
• Adoption Choices of Texas
• Legacy Adoption Services
• Caring Adoptions
• Adoption Alliance
• Cradle of Life Adoption Agency
• Gladney Center for Adoption
• Adoption Advocates
• Texas Christian Adoptions

Step 3: Find the Perfect Adoptive Family

Giving your baby up for adoption really gives hope. You’re giving your baby a brighter future by placing your child with a waiting family. Finding the perfect adoptive family means your bond with your child can continue as they grow into the person they’re destined to become. That’s empowering and exciting for many birth mothers.

Your chosen adoption agency is your advocate and ally when you’re putting baby up for adoption in Texas. Your adoption professional will be your guide as you search for the right adoptive family for your child.

Your adoption professional will use your adoption plan to find potential matches among the available adoptive families. You’ll review the adoptive family profiles for those families. The profiles will help you narrow the pool of prospective adoptive families when giving up your baby for adoption. With some agencies you may have only a few profiles to look at. Others may present you with dozens. Larger, national adoption agencies typically offer a wider selection of families.

After choosing a family, you can meet and begin to form a bond. Throughout your pregnancy, you can communicate with the adoptive family. If you have an open adoption contact agreement, that communication will continue afterward.

Selecting open or semi-open adoption when giving baby up for adoption in Texas often results in gaining an extended family. Birth parents and adoptive parents are united by a unique bond based on their mutual love for the child.

Step 4: Create Your Birth Plan 

You’ll also need a birth plan in addition to your adoption plan. The birth plan is important when placing your baby for adoption. The hospital stay is the emotional highpoint of your adoption journey and having a plan increases your chances of a smooth experience.

Your birth plan should describe your wishes on many details of labor and delivery, including:

• Which hospital will be used?
• Who will be allowed in the delivery room?
• Who will hold the baby first?
• How much time will you spend with the baby and adoptive family, if any?
• Whether pictures will be taken with you, the child and the adoptive parents?
• When will consent be given and documents be signed?
• When and how will you leave the hospital?
• And many more

It’s a good idea to include as many details as possible in your hospital plan when placing your baby for adoption. The plan is your roadmap that lets everyone know your expectations for the birth experience.

Remember, you’re not alone on this journey. Your adoption agency is your advocate. Your adoption professional will help you create this plan and give you guidance and resources to make your hospital stay peaceful.

When putting your baby up for adoption in Texas, you can sign your adoption paperwork no sooner than 48 hours after the birth of the child. When you sign your adoption paperwork, you’re voluntarily terminating your parental rights and transferring custody to the adoptive parents.

Your adoption professional or attorney will be there to help you learn more about signing your adoption paperwork in Texas.

Step 5: Move Forward with Life After Placement

Your baby may be living with their new family, but that doesn’t mean placing your baby for adoption is the final chapter in your bond with your child.

Through open adoption, you can be a part of your child’s life through continued communication. Your preferences determine how much and what kind of contact you have. Communication can include letters, photos, emails, and videos. You choose how much, or as little, contact you have with your child and adoptive parents.

Some birth parents prefer a semi-open adoption without direct communication with the adoptive parents after giving up a baby for adoption in Texas. If that’s your preference, an adoption professional can mediate between the parties, and birth parents communicate with the adoptive parents through an adoption agency.

Next Steps

Putting a child up for adoption in Texas isn’t “giving up.” Putting baby up for adoption offers a gift of hope. Adoption offers your child the opportunity to become the person they’re meant to be. If you’re considering placing your baby for adoption in Texas, find the information you need regarding your options at this link today. You can speak to an adoption professional who’ll help you find out how to give your baby up for adoption in Texas.