If you go into labor and have not yet selected a family, don’t worry. Together we can create an adoption plan in a matter of hours. We have wonderful families that are ready to go on a moment’s notice. The key thing to know is that you can still chose a great family and the baby will not be without adoptive parents. It is never too late to create an adoption plan that meets all of your expectations and requirements. If you have selected a family prior to going into labor, then we will already have created a detailed hospital plan and all arrangements will have been made. In most open adoptions, the delivery of the child is a beautiful coming together of the birth parent(s) and adoptive parent(s) to bring the child into the world together. Most adopted children today get to grow up hearing about their beautiful adoption story and birth from adoptive parents who where selected by their birth mother and were involved in pregnancy and birth. The key thing to know is that all birth mothers have full control over how much contact they want with the baby and the adoptive couple in the hospital. You are able to have anyone you want with you at all times for support. Some birth mothers are concerned about confidentiality. If this is the case, we can arrange for you to have a private room and keep your delivery and the adoption completely private. Also, no adoption paperwork can be signed until after discharge. This is nice because the hospital experience is your time to bring the baby into the world and recover from the delivery. The baby can be discharged to the adoptive couple straight from the hospital. The actual adoption paperwork will not take place until after you are discharged from the hospital and confirm that you wish to place the child with the family you have selected.

Answer: First, birth parents who voluntarily elect to place a child for adoption and who personally choose the adoptive family are very grateful to the family they selected and are proud of their decision. Second, if a birth parent could change their mind about the placement after the revocation period runs, then there would be no such thing as adoption. The law simply does not permit this. In all fifty states, as long as there is no fraud, duress or coercion (which I assume is not part of your adoption plan) there is nothing that can go wrong once valid consents of the birth parents are obtained and the short revocation period has run. In a majority of states, irrevocable consents can be obtained and relied upon within seven days or less of the baby's birth.

Answer: Generally the answer is no. Most pregnant women who do not already have medical insurance are entitled to medical coverage through MediCal or Medicaid. We assist a birth mother in securing this critical medical coverage. Since a baby cannot be placed for adoption until after the birth of the baby, the entire nine months of prenatal care and the delivery of the baby are generally covered by government issued medical insurance. Federal law (ERISA) requires your private health insurance provider to cover the baby. Your insurance company is responsible for coverage for the baby as soon as the birth mother signs the placement papers. All that you will need to do is contact your insurance company and request that the child be added to your policy. You should make this request once the birth mother signs her placement papers. While coverage is mandatory, an insurance company will charge an extra monthly/yearly premium to add a dependent to your policy. Since Medicaid generally covers the birth mother and the baby until placement, and an adoptive parent's insurance company covers the baby from the placement, it is fair to say that most adoptive parents do not pay the birth mother's prenatal or delivery bills because they already are covered.