Open Adoption Vs Co-Parenting
As a birth mother, one of the most critical choices you have to make is the adoption method for your baby. It decides how much, if any, contact you will have with your child after we place them with a family. There is no one correct answer, you are in control of your adoption plan, and the choice is yours. Open adoption is the most popular of the three methods we have used at our Oklahoma adoption agencies in recent years. However, it has its pros and cons, like other methods, alongside misconceptions about it and the concept of co-parenting.
Adoption Choices of Oklahoma is a private adoption agency that guides birth mothers through the adoption journey. For 19 years, we have served the Tulsa and wider Oklahoma areas in finding a loving home for your child. With decades of experience in Oklahoma adoption, we can help you find the answers you seek.
What is Open Adoption?
As the name suggests, open adoption has the most open communication between you, the adoptive family, and your child. As a result, you will form a relationship with the chosen family that can continue after your child’s birth and adoption. Our private adoption agencies believe it can benefit you, your child, and the family.
We help plan your baby’s adoption; no matter the method, it is essential to know what to expect. In an open adoption, we help you choose a loving pre-screened family, and you can meet them adequately. Through your adoption plan, we give you information on the different family’s history and financial capacity to raise your baby. It allows you to make the best choice for yourself and the family your child will end up with. Even if you know adoption is your best choice, it is common to feel guilty and mourn your child. However, knowing the family, you have come to trust and raising them can give you comfort through your grief.
This naturally means you will have contact with your child as they grow up with your chosen adoptive family. You can form a relationship with them and continue to watch them grow and thrive in life. For your child, they will know who they came from, giving them a better sense of identity. Also, if any kind of physical or mental genetic illness arises, having your history can help them through it. However, this is where open adoption can be mixed up with co-parenting, and they are very different concepts.
Open Adoption Vs. Co-Parenting
Co-parenting is when the job of raising a child is split between people who are not in a formal relationship. For example, a child’s biological parents may not be married but still, choose to raise them together. This is fundamentally different from adoption, no matter how open it may be. Once the adoption process is done, legally, that is not your child anymore. While you can still have a relationship with your child, the duty of raising them goes to the adoptive family. The core aspect separating these two ideas is that open adoption has boundaries. In a successful open adoption, you and the family will set boundaries for each other that benefits you both.
This can determine how open the adoption truly is and how much contact you will have. Our adoption agencies are here to make this as flexible as possible while adhering to the decision boundaries. Only you know how much communication you want with your child, and you have to make that choice.
Adoption is not co-parenting. As stated, they cannot be any more different. But even if you are not raising your child, it does not mean you do not love them. Going forward with adoption, you ensure the child will receive the love they deserve. Even if you choose a semi-open or closed adoption, your love for your child still guides your adoption path.
Open Adoption with Adoption Choices of Oklahoma
Adoption Choices of Oklahoma truly believes open adoption will have the greatest benefits for every party involved with the adoption. But adoption is still an adoption. You are giving away your baby but are doing so out of love. Just because you are not raising your child does not mean you cannot have a relationship with them. We will work with you to make the best choice whether the adoption is open or not. Our adoption agencies strive to create the best future for you and your child, including the chance to share it.
For any question or need about adoption in Oklahoma, we are here to help. Adoption Choices of Oklahoma is a private adoption agency licensed by the state of Oklahoma and a leader in the adoption community. We have assisted birth parents, children, and adoptive families in Oklahoma for over 19 years. Our staff members are committed to providing an ethical, empowering, and personalized adoption experience to all involved in the adoption process. If you are currently in the process of adopting a baby and have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact us.
Toll-free: 800-898-6028 | OKC Local: 405-755-1999 | Tulsa Local: 918-447-7777 | Text: 405-201-6643 | Email
