Benefits of Open Adoption

Open and semi-open adoptions are becoming the "norm"over the completely confidential and quite secretive adoptions of the past. Sometimes open adoptions are called "disclosed" or "cooperative" adoptions. There are many benefits to open adoption for the birthparents, adoptive parents and the adopted child. The majority of adoption professionals and experts agree that openness benefits everyone involved in adoption.

There are varying degrees of openness in adoption. A typical open adoption lands somewhere in the middle, with at least some form of identifying information exchanged and direct or indirect contact between the birthparents (usually the birthmother, but sometimes the birthfather as well) and the adoptive parents. Open adoptions allow a continuing trusting relationship to form between the birthparents, adoptive parents and child.

In open adoptions, the birthparents select the adoptive parents by looking over profiles and photos of families waiting to adopt a child. Often, the birthparents and prospective adoptive parents meet before the child's birth or at the hospital in domestic infant adoption (if both parties are comfortable with that). Some adoptive parents are even involved during pregnancy, long before delivery. Quite frequently the birthmother will want to see and hold her child after delivery and also write a special letter to her child. In open adoptions, there may be continued contact between both families though phone calls, e-mails, letters, exchanging of gifts, sharing of photos, updates and sometimes even physical visits after placement, depending on the specific arrangement. With open adoption, the birthparents may feel better about their difficult and loving decision because they have the reassurance of knowing how their birth child is doing and that he or she is safe.

Children may benefit in several ways from openness in adoption. Children typically are curious about their birthparents. As children grow, open adoption removes the mystery of where they came from and allows them to know who their birthparents are. Open adoption provides adopted children with direct and on-going access to medical history and information. The children's questions get answered, they never have to wonder about their family roots and they don't have to search for their birth family as adults. On the other hand, open adoption is far from co-parenting and there is rarely confusion about who the child's parents are as long as parenting roles are not mixed.