A: You are likely feeling overwhelmed and confused right now. An Open Arms counselor can help you work through your emotions. We offer counseling and support to help you understand all of the options available to you so that you can decide what is the best choice for you. While exploring all of your pregnancy and parenting options - you may decide that adoption is the right choice. If you choose adoption, your Open Arms counselor will talk with you about adoption laws, about your rights and about the opportunities available to you to plan the type of adoption you want.

A: People in a lot of different situations choose adoption for their baby. Someone who feels too young to raise a child might choose adoption...someone who is already struggling as a single parent may choose adoption...someone who may not feel emotionally or financially ready to raise a child may choose adoption...or someone who has college or career prospects ahead that might prevent them from being the kind of parent that they want to be. People who choose adoption for their baby are sometimes as young as 14 and are often in their 20's or 30's. But the one characteristic that is common in all cases is that people who choose adoption believe in their heart and mind that adoption is the best choice for their baby and their baby's future.

A.  There are many emotional, practical, and legal aspects of an adoption plan. When you call Open Arms, an adoption counselor will discuss them with you.  If you choose to plan an adoption for your baby, your adoption counselor will walk you through each step.  Your counselor will support you as you make decisions such as selecting the adoptive parents for your child, choosing which type of relationship- Open, Semi-Open, or Confidential Adoption feels right for you, and designing your hospital plan. When the time is right, after the baby is born, your counselor will help you make the adoption plan permanent. Open Arms offers free lifetime counseling for birthparents.

A: Yes. Open Arms Adoption Network facilitates child-centered adoptions. By maintaining a relationship the birth and adoptive families preserve the bridge between the child's birthfamily (you) and the child's adoptive family. There are many ways birth and adoptive families maintain connections, including visits, phone calls, letters, photos, and/or e-mails. Semi-open adoption and open adoption can involve these connections, however semi-adoption involves mediation of the adoption agency. We also know that sometimes staying in contact might be too difficult for you emotionally. You can choose to have no contact now - but if you do have an interest months or years later, you can contact Open Arms. At that point, we'd be happy to help you re-establish a connection with the adoptive family. Our counseling services are available to you and the adoptive family, forever.

A: The father of your baby is treated with just as much respect as you are. Sometimes only one of the expectant parents is interested in planning an adoption, while the other parent might wish to raise the child. We can help you sort through these issues. If adoption is the chosen route, birthfathers are encouraged to be involved in the adoption process and have ongoing contact with the adoptive family too, if desired.

A: If you decide to plan an adoption, an important question may be, "If not me, who are the right people to raise my child?" Our approved adoptive families prepare their own multi-page Family Profiles. These profiles also include many photos and details about the lives they lead. We will provide you with these profiles to look through. You will likely be drawn to particular families who have certain interests, hobbies and values that you feel good about. After you have chosen a family - a family that you could envision your baby growing up with - you and your counselor can meet with them if you'd like. Together you can create an adoption plan that honors both you and the adoptive family - a plan that places the baby's well-being first. All adoptive families are screened thoroughly via criminal background and child abuse clearances, reference and employment checks and a counselor meets with them in their homes several times as is consistent with state law.