Closed Adoption

Private agency adoptions primarily facilitate those of infants from pregnant women. These future birth mothers have a huge responsibility to the pregnancy and those that wish to abstain from involvement in the adoption process opt for what's called a closed adoption.

In closed adoptions, the future birth mother and prospective adoptive parents will not be given the first or last name of the other party nor will they ever meet. Birth parents have absolutely no say in who the adoptive parents will be and any negotiations will be mediated by a case worker or attorney.

Few future adopters and birth mothers are comfortable with this process, the impersonal quality to a closed adoption may lead to a birth mother changing her mind about the placement or may leave too many questions in the mind of the adopters. However, first-time parents may prefer a closed adoption because it isolates her from any involvement in the child's life after adoption.

Closed adoption is a matter of preference and its pros and cons depend on the adoption parties. That being said, adopters should trust their mediator and make sure he or she is personable. A rude or condescending attorney or case worker may turn the birth mother away from the desire to place.

This stands true for most adoptive parents, but those who engaged in a closed adoption may have a difficult time when faced with tough, unanswerable questions from the child later in life.