The adoption process can be more than intimidating. Choosing where, who, and how to adopt can be a whirlwind experience. In the past, many couples in America were set on closed adoption situations. An inability to get pregnant, the adoption process, unplanned pregnancy, and other social situations were somewhat taboo just a few decades ago. However, open adoption has become much more prevalent in recent years, and there are plenty of benefits to adopting a child through an open adoption scenario.

Open Adoptions Allow for Transparency

Most kids who are adopted by a family will eventually find out that they were adopted, even in closed adoption scenarios. However, the big question that adoptive parents face in a closed adoption is, "Do we tell our child that they were adopted?" The desire to tell a child that he or she was adopted can hang over adoptive parents for years and can lead to resentment and guilt of their closed adoption choice.

Additionally, closed adoptions may lead to a child never finding their real parents, which can force the adopted child to resent their adoptive parents for making this decision for them. In an open adoption, transparency can help an adopted child feel cared for and loved by his adoptive parents while simultaneously taking a burden off of the adoptive parents to decide if they will ever tell their child of his history.

Open Adoptions Can Keep the Child Safe

In a closed adoption, the adoptive parents may never learn of the medical history of the birth parents. However, a medical history is extremely important information that can protect a child when they are growing up— and even when they are an adult. There is a reason that medical personnel will ask patients about their family's medical history when they see them for a check-up. Medical anomalies, diseases, and allergies commonly run through the genetic line of a family. When that genetic line is unknown, an adopted child may be at risk due to an unforeseen medical complication.

When it comes to diseases and allergies, understanding a family's medical background can literally spell the difference between life and death. In open adoptions, adoptive parents are given the medical history of their new child as soon as they sign for him or her. This information is vital in protecting their newborn from any genetic medical issues. In some medical scenarios, knowing the cause of the problem is just as important as the problem itself. This is why medical histories are so important to know.

Do You Need an Adoption Lawyer?

When signing over custody of a child, it is important that all the paperwork is done properly and efficiently. For this reason, adoption lawyers should be used to ensure that the process runs smoothly. Contact a family law attorney for your up-and-coming open adoption.