One of the reasons you may be considering adoption is that your unborn baby may have been diagnosed with special needs. You may feel unequipped to parent a child with special needs.

During your pregnancy, you could find out that your child has a special need, a disability, or a medical condition, such as Down Syndrome or a heart condition or defect. Sometimes whatever may be wrong could be corrected after your baby is born and other times the problem may be uncorrectable and a life long condition, such as Down Syndrome.

For any pregnant women, regardless of whether or not the pregnancy was planned or unplanned, hearing that your unborn baby has or may possibly have some sort of special need, disability, or birth defect can be overwhelming.

Some birth defects can be detected through blood tests, ultrasounds, or genetic counseling, but not all birth defects and problems can be detected during pregnancy but knowing during pregnancy gives you time to research and educate yourself about whatever it is that your baby may have. Some special needs, such as developmental delays or autism, aren’t diagnosed until the baby is born and older.

Below is a list of some of the possible (but obviously not all) birth defects or special needs. If you click on each link, it will take you to more information about that specific disability.

• Cleft palate



• Down Syndrome



• Spina Bifida



• Cystic Fibrosis



• Congenital Heart Defects

Another great resource if your baby has been diagnosed with some type of special need is the Center for Disease Controls and Preventions Birth Defects area. There is tons of information on various birth defects, resources for dealing with them, as well as links to other sites with information on particular birth defects.

If your baby has been diagnosed with some sort of birth defect or special need, I really suggest educating yourself as much as possible. Seek out parents who are parenting children with the same or similar conditions as nothing is better than a parent’s first hand of count of living with a child with that condition daily. Even if you make an adoption plan, you should still be educated about your child’s condition.

In my next post, I will share my personal experience of parenting a child with special needs, so stay tuned.

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