People decide to go through the adoption process for a number of reasons. Those who choose to put their child up to be adopted also have many different reasons. These parents may want to leave the option of being part of the child’s life sometime down the road open or they may not want have to deal with the stress and emotional tension that it could cause. Georgia families should understand the difference between open and closed adoption and know how they feel about each.
In some cases, the birth parents may choose to keep the adoption closed. This was often the case until around the 1970s. Whether due to the situation of the adoption or other influences, those giving their child up to be adopted into someone else’s family may want to close the lines of communication. The severing of ties typically does not come from anger or malice toward the adoptive family, but can often be due to the desire to keep the pregnancy secret for one reason or another. Children who have been adopted in this way are usually told that their mothers loved them very much, but this is difficult to comprehend when a birth mother does not want to be contacted.
The other type of adoption is open. This means that the birth mother has given the adoptive parents the information necessary to contact her. This gives the child the opportunity to meet and even regularly visit his or her birth parents. Keeping in contact, or meeting for the first time, has become much simpler with the advancement of technology. This method of adoption has its risks and may even cause adoptive parents to worry about the connection the birth mom and their child may have.
There are many different aspects one has to consider when preparing to adopt a child. Whether international or domestic, understanding the differences between an open and a closed adoption is important. There are benefits and disadvantages to both and the choice is typically left up to the birth mother. Couples in Georgia seeking to change the life of a child through this process need to have a good understanding of everything an adoption entails.
Source: Social Justice Solutions, Open or Closed Adoption. Is One Better Than The Other?, John Brooks, Mar. 3, 2014
