Adopting A Baby

The majority of adopters come into the adoption community wanting to adopt an infant or a child between the ages of 0 and 2 years old. This is a popular choice for first-time parents especially. Many feel that adopting an infant is the closest way to fully experience parenting and to control the kind of environment a child is raised in immediately after he or she is born. There are three ways to go about adopting a baby. An individual or couple can look overseas for placement or they can pursue an independent or private agency placement. It's true that public agencies place babies as well, but it's less common as the focus is more toward placing older children.

To begin adopting a baby, an adopter must decide between international and domestic adoption. Nontraditional adopters have a better chance of being placed with a healthy child overseas than in the United States. Checking with different country's customs and preferences can help inform this decision. If a couple is considering domestic infant adoption, they should choose between and agency and attorney or facilitator. About two-thirds of infant adoptions are handled independently, so they may want to factor that into their decision. Those adoptions can also include more expenses and service fees.

Adopting a baby requires a couple to pass a home study, to provide money for a birth mother's counseling before and after placement, a few of her expenses, such as travel costs to and from counseling, maternity clothes or lodging if the couple chooses to move closer to a hotel as her due date nears.