Continued from yesterday's post.....

Below are a few aspects of the importance of open adoption.

Provides a link to the child’s biological family - At some point in his or her life, your child will probably want to know about their biological family, why they were placed for adoption, who they look like, etc.. In open adoptions, the birth parents are there ready to answer questions when the child is ready to ask them. Adoption shouldn’t... more

Recently, I have posted about open adoption and tried to define what an open adoption typically consists of. I believe that open adoptions are beneficial to the children, in most cases. As I’ve said before, there are varying levels of open adoption and open adoptions are not legally binding.

Adoption is a life altering experience for all those involved. It is thought that open adoption makes the pain, grief, and loss issues less severe for each... more

If you are making an adoption plan, you may be considering open adoption. Years ago, there were no open adoptions. Expecting mothers were shunned by their families and communities and often sent to maternity homes to have their babies. Their baby’s were then handed over to the agency or attorney handling the adoption, with little or no contact with their baby. Often times, they were not allowed to see or hold their baby. Allowing expectant mothers to choose the prospective adoptive parent - forget it!

We have come a long way from where we were then. Open adoption rates... more

So, I received my first request for a topic. The question was in relation to my post on Broken Promises.

“I wonder if you'd be willing to write something about how important it is for birthparents to honor their commitments to open adoption. As often as I see people talking about adoptive parents going back on contact, I also sometimes see people talking about birthparents who disappear or fall out of contact. I'd be really interested in hearing what birthparents/expectant parents think about the commitment of open adoption and what their commitment is about contact.”

Actually,... more

A genuine open adoption involves ongoing, reciprocal contact between birth and adoptive families. It’s about preserving ties to the child’s original identity and heritage, and making sure the child can always get direct answers to questions about why he or she was "given up"—straight from the source. Kids who grow up in open adoption feel more grounded, have fewer doubts and fears about being “unwanted,” and have the security that comes from being able to see themselves mirrored in their biological family.

Unfortunately, many adoption workers perpetuate the misunderstanding... more