How Counseling Can Help You After Your Adoption Journey

By Megan Kostraba

It goes without saying that adoption is a tough journey. There’s a lot that follows adoption—powerful emotions, heavy decision-making, and then there’s the actual physical pain of childbirth! It can be intimidating and overwhelming for birth parents. 

To understand the adoption process, birth parents put all of their focus on their adoption for a long period of time. It can be hard to get back to your previous reality! Birth parents may find themselves needing some extra help before starting their next journey, and that’s okay. At Adoption Choices of Oklahoma, we understand and are ready to help. 

Some people might stray away from counseling services, which we also understand. However, as an adoption agency, we work closely with birth parents who stem from all different walks of life. Our team of adoption specialists is familiar with the concerns and worries that stem from an unplanned pregnancy. We are here and ready to offer you the support you deserve. 

The Challenges of Adoption

Some people may not realize it, but adoption is one of the hardest decisions birth parents make. There are a lot of misconceptions about adoption that surround our society. Adoption used to be thought of as a “taboo” subject. Luckily, in our modern world, adoption has a more positive connotation. There are still assumptions about birth parents, but one of our agency goals is to change those misconceptions.

When you make the decision to consider adoption for your baby, you have to face these misconceptions and future challenges head-on. People not familiar with the panic and scariness that stems from an unplanned pregnancy believe that parents are “giving their baby up” for adoption. This couldn’t be further from the truth!

Placing your baby up for adoption is a selfless act, not selfish. There is a big difference between the two! Choosing adoption means accepting the role you will play in your child’s life, accepting the feelings of grief and guilt, and accepting that you will need time to heal. This is why we have services available to help you, and is all a part of your adoption plan. 

How Counseling Can Support You After Your Adoption 

Our adoption counselors are intimately familiar with the emotions that follow adoption. After the child is born, birth parents can be left feeling regret, grief, sadness, and guilt for their child. While adoption still remains a wonderful option, it can be hard to express your feelings. Your emotional well-being is important to us, which is why we recommend counseling for all of our birth parents. 

Choosing adoption for your baby is no simple feat, and you may need time to recover and heal from the ordeal. A lot of birth parents question their decision and ponder too long on what life could be like if they made a different choice. As an adoption agency, we want all of our birth parents to remember that they chose adoption because it was the best choice for their child. People choose adoption for various reasons—medical issues, financial instability, an unsupportive family, or personal reasons. It’s important to remember that all of your reasons are valid and that you chose adoption in order to give your child opportunities in life you may not be able to provide. 

Counseling can provide you the support and care you need after your long-awaited adoption journey has ended! Through counseling, we can help you express your feelings and understand why you are having those feelings. We want you to feel safe and free in an unbiased space to process your grief and loss. Providing you with comfort and emotional aid during your childbirth and afterward is important. You never have to feel alone during your adoption. 

The Importance of Counseling in Adoption Today 

Adoption counseling is a modern service most adoption agencies offer for their birth parents—an addition that we fully support! An unplanned pregnancy is something that many women have had to face and will only continue to face as time moves on. Birth mothers and birth parents deserve the treatment and care they need before, during, and after their adoption. 

Adoption is no easy feat, and at Adoption Choices of Oklahoma, we want to support all of our birth parents. If you are someone looking to begin your adoption journey or are looking for some guidance after your journey, we are here for you! Reach out to any of our agencies in Oklahoma for more information regarding adoption services.