Having a baby is one of the many joys that couples have to experience throughout their life. The unique bond that a mother and father have with their flesh and blood is unlike any other bond in this world, and it truly is a joyous thing. Sadly, there are a number of people in our society that are infertile, or unable to have children, for a number of reasons. Whether it is simply a mystery, or health problems, among other life circumstances, not everyone is able to have a child of their own. While this can be an extremely sad and a difficult thing to process, there are other options out there for individuals who desire to expand their family and their home.

Among these options include fertility treatments, surrogate mothers, sperm donors, and finally adoption. While adoption may not be the choice for everyone, it is a wonderful way to take in a baby who otherwise may not have a home to grow up in. When looking at adoption there are a number of types that you can look into such as through an agency, as a stepparent, independent, and so on. Here we will discuss what the differences between an open and closed adoption are, allowing you to hopefully learn a bit and prepare you for future decisions down the road.

Many people nowadays have heard of open adoption, and it is somewhat a common occurrence. However, decades ago, this was never the case, and the majority of all adoptions were closed. What this means is that when a closed adoption occurs, the birth mother (and father in some cases) and forgoing their rights to have any form of contact with the child or the new parents after the adoption has gone through. These days, there are more and more families who are agreeing to allow the birth parents to in some way remain in the lives of their children, even though they are not technically the legal parents any longer.

Closed Adoptions. This is becoming much rarer here in the U.S. though internationally it remains the prevalent process that people will use for adoption, especially when adopting a newborn baby into the family. Closed adoption works a little differently than open; the prospective parents ill essentially add their name to a list and they would wait to be contacted by a social worker. In most cases, the social worker would give them the child and not release any information regarding the history of the child including their origin or anything about the birthparents. Parents often times wouldn't even tell the children that they were adopted in these situations. In the event that the birth parents knew each other somehow when they chose to do the closed adoption, after it was official there would be no contact whatsoever until the child was at least 18 years old, and sometimes never. In some cases, a person may seek to have a closed adoption opened by the court, the state the laws will determine the regulations regarding this process.

Open Adoptions. As stated, this process of adoption is becoming increasingly common here in the United States as it gives families the freedom to still be involved in the lives of their birth children in some level even if they are unable at the time to be the full time parents that they need to grow up in a safe and healthy environment. When couples agree to an open adoption, this often allows for more detailed decision making on the parents end. A concern that can often arise with closed adoption was the fact that adoptive parents knew nothing about their kid's histories, especially medical history. Because of this it is hard for doctors to address certain problems if they are not aware of the medical history. With open adoption, the freedom of disclosure is available to all parties involved therefore making health concerns in the future less of a worry factor. Another benefit of open adoption is when the adoptive parents have a relationship with the birth mother during the actual pregnancy. In some cases, adoptive parents will help the parents care for the child well by paying for doctor visits or prenatal vitamins, etc. to ensure the health of the future baby and its mother. Birth parents may want varying levels of communication with their child, and that can be discussed during the process.

If you are looking to adopt, contact a family lawyer in your area for the legal guidance that you will want during this complicating and lengthy process. Remember that in the long run, it is well worth it!