Risks of Adoption

Possible Disappointments when Adopting

You will need to understand some of the risks of adoption, before you take the leap towards starting the adoption process.

Of course it is the intent of any adoption agency or non-profit organization that your adoption run smoothly and be a success. Unfortunately, this is not always the case and things sometimes go wrong.

As with many challenges in life there are also risks when adopting a child. When you start down the road of adoption, you must prepare yourself emotionally for any possible disappointments when adopting.

Private Adoption Risk

Many people will stay away from private adoption because they fear the risks of adoption with this option.

* If you choose this method of adoption you are running the risk of the birth mother possibly changing her mind, keeping her baby and raising them herself.

After going through the entire adoption process, sharing the pregnancy with the birth mother, wouldn't it be disheartening to be informed by the birth mother that her child was no longer available to adopt because she had decided to keep her baby.

No doubt this announcement would be quite devastating, but you should be made fully aware of this possibility before entering into any agreement with the birth mother regarding adopting her newborn.

Public Adoption Risks

* If you choose to adopt publicly, you may be disappointed to learn that there are only a few babies and toddlers for adoption. These children often come into foster care as infants, but they will also often remain in foster care for several years before a decision is made as to whether or not they will be put up for adoption.

This is not always the case, but it may not be wise to get your hopes up.

For example, my youngest daughter was 8 mons. when she came into foster care. It took 4 years before it was finally, decided that she would go for adoption. Lucky for us, since the girls, my husband and I all bonded as a family, we were given the first opportunity to adopt them. You can read more about how we went from fostering our two girls to adopting them here.

Your new child may be emotionally unstable and have a difficult time adjusting to their environment. This can be discouraging in the beginning, especially for the first little while.

But, fortunately, there are people involved in public adoptions who are able to council you and your new child or children in situations such as this.

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Foreign Adoption Problems

Foreign adoption seems to be quite popular among North Americans. Perhaps because adoptive parents are almost certain they will find an infant or toddler. However, the risks of adoption overseas can be great.

* There is plenty of red tape to sort through with a foreign adoption. A different government often introduces new adoption laws (that you are unfamiliar with) which may affect the adoption process. Possibly delaying the adoption or maybe even terminating it all together. This is one adoption risk you must willing to take.

Also governments in foreign countries have different rules and restrictions for adoption. It is recommended that you adopt from a country where the government is stable and there is less chance of sudden changes, there will likely be less adoption risks that way.

* It is very important that you thoroughly research your new child's health history, you will want to know in advance if the child will have health issues that you will have to deal with or not.

It is best to be prepared and at least be aware of the possible risks of adoption. The bottom line is, you must be very careful which adoption method you choose, which country you choose if adopting overseas, and to learn all you possibly can about your new adoptive child. You must also attempt to prepare your minds and souls for the possibility of disappointment.

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