Continue the pregnancy and place the baby for adoption
What is adoption?
Adoption is a legal process where the responsibilities of the birth parent/s of a child or children are transferred to the adoptive parent/s. Where a child cannot remain with his or her birth parent/s, adoption provides a child with a permanent family to which the child belongs. The granting of an Adoption Order by the court legalises this arrangement and, once granted, cannot be revoked.
Where can I get information about adoption from?
If you are thinking about placing your child for adoption, it is important that you understand what this means before you make any decisions. Adoptions are arranged by the Social Services Department of your local authority and/or by voluntary adoption agencies. All these organisations have social workers who will be able to talk to you about adoption. Most hospitals employ social workers who work with maternity clinics and could also advise you.
If a local authority has decided that the best plan for your child is to place them for adoption, then you should make sure you understand why they have taken this decision and that your views are properly represented. You should talk to the social worker who is responsible for your child, your own legal representative and somebody who is independent and can support you through the process.
BAAF (British Adoption and Fostering) publish a series of Advice Notes which are available from the Publications Section of the BAAF website (www.baaf.org.uk) for a very small fee. You may find the following Advice Notes particularly useful:
- 'Pregnant and thinking about adoption?' - facts about adoption and points to be considered when making the decision to have a baby adopted. Also contains a useful list of sources of information and help.
- 'If your child is being adopted' - explains how adoption works, the roles, duties and responsibilities of all those involved, and points for birth parents to consider about how the adoption of their child may affect them now and in the future.
Contacts
The contacts database contains details of organisations that may be able to offer information or assistance on this issue.
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With thanks to BAAF (British Association for Adoption and Fostering) for their assistance with this section.
