For hopeful families just starting the adoption process, finding a birth mother to adopt from in North Carolina can seem like an exciting but challenging part of their adoption journey. After all, an adoption match is perhaps the thing that will have the most impact on their personal family-building journey, and it can be nerve-wracking to find the “perfect” match for all involved.

Whether you are completing an independent or agency-assisted adoption, it’s important to understand the steps you’ll take in finding a birth mother to adopt from. Fortunately, the experienced adoption attorneys at the Parker Herring Law Group PLLC can explain the process ahead of you and any applicable legalities, as well as provide support and guidance throughout. To learn more, please don’t hesitate to call our law firm at 919-821-1860.

Below, find more information about the two paths you can take to find the perfect adoption opportunity for you.

Finding a Birth Mother Without an Adoption Agency

Adoptive families who choose to find an adoption opportunity on their own complete a private, independent adoption. This path gives hopeful parents a great deal of control — and responsibility — over finding a birth mother to adopt from who meets their adoption expectations.

If you are considering an independent adoption, you should also consider how to find a birth mother for private adoption on your own. This starts with building an adoption plan detailing what you desire in an adopted child and identifying the resources you will use during this search for a prospective birth mother.

Adoptive families who are looking for an adoption opportunity on their own can use:

• Family and personal connections
• Internet and social networks
• Adoptive family websites
• Printing advertisements in local papers

Those completing an independent adoption may also receive referrals for adoption opportunities from adoption facilitators and their adoption attorney. While these professionals won’t provide the detailed matching and contact mediation that adoption agencies do, they may have a wider network from which to mine for adoption opportunities.

If you wish to work with the Parker Herring Law Group PLLC for an independent adoption and have not yet found an adoption opportunity, our attorneys can refer you to local matching professionals, like the adoption agency directed by our attorney Parker Herring. If you have already found an adoption opportunity, our adoption attorneys can guide you through the legal process of this adoption.

There are a few things to keep in mind if you are finding a birth mother to adopt from without the assistance of a matching professional:

• Independent adoptions require more open communication between adoptive parents and birth parents. Because there is no professional mediating your contact, you will need to share identifying information and discuss sensitive topics when determining if a potential match is right for both parties.
• Searching for a prospective birth mother online or in a similar manner opens hopeful parents up to risk of adoption fraud, because prospective birth mothers are not screened before connecting with them.
• Finding a birth mother for private adoption in North Carolina without the assistance of a professional can create a longer wait period.

Finding a Birth Mother With an Adoption Agency

To give themselves the best chance at finding the perfect match, many adoptive families choose to work with a local adoption agency as they’re finding a birth mother to adopt from. Adoption agencies provide step-by-step guidance to make the searching and waiting process as easy as possible for prospective adoptive families. They also provide support to maintain a match until an adoption is complete.

When you work with a local adoption agency, you will be provided a personal case worker who will assist you through every step of this process, from determining your adoption preferences to creating a profile to communication with a prospective birth mother. Adoption agencies can help you by presenting your profile to birth mothers who fit your criteria for race, sex, and substance and alcohol use and health issues. There is a family for every baby, but to have a good match it’s important to know the issues in each situation and to decide if it’s a good fit.

Even if you have stricter adoption preferences, the wider network an adoption agency provides often results in a shorter wait period. The professional guidance they provide in creating attractive adoptive family profiles for prospective birth parents to view also aids in finding a birth mother to adopt from in a shorter time.

When you choose to find an adoption opportunity with an agency, all of the prospective birth mothers presented to you will have been pre-screened to make sure they are truly ready for the adoption process. This, in turn, decreases the risk of an adoption disruption. An adoption agency also provides emotional support and counseling to a woman during her adoption journey to help her stay committed to her adoption match with you.

Integral to her commitment will be pre-placement communication with you as a hopeful adoptive parent — which an adoption agency can help mediate. Adoptive parents who are finding a birth mother for private adoption independently will have to organize and complete contact with a prospective birth mother on their own, which may be difficult to navigate in some situations.

Start Finding an Adoption Opportunity Today

In most adoptions, the path you take to finding your adoption opportunity will impact the rest of your family-building journey. It’s important to research both methods available to you to determine which best fits your personal adoption goals and preferences before committing to a particular adoption program.

Whether you decide to find a prospective birth mother independently or with the assistance of an adoption agency, the adoption attorneys at the Parker Herring Law Group PLLC can always help you with the legal steps of your adoption and provide any references to additional matching professionals you may need. Our adoption attorneys have a large network and have built up relationships with other adoption agencies, attorneys and facilitators and can refer you and tell you about their experiences working with other professionals. To learn more about how our law firm can help you with your North Carolina adoption, please contact us today.