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Expectant/Birth Parent Counseling
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Waiting Parents Meet Debbie and Jason who hope to become adoptive parents. |
The Home for Little Wanderers offers the following expectant/birth parent counseling services:
- Confidential, free decision making counseling (most insurances accepted or free)
- Assistance in obtaining medical care, housing, and financial assistance, if needed
- Information about your legal rights and those of the birth father
- Counseling for birth fathers
- Appointments at locations convenient for you
- Choice of adoptive families who are prepared to provide a loving home to your child
- Choice regarding the type and frequency of contact between you and the adoptive family
- Option to place child with one of The Home for Little Wanderers' licensed families while making a decision
For more information, please call:
617-288-7450 between 9am-5pm
Please ask to speak to an expectant/birth parent counselor.
For your child, for you ... Adoption may be an option.
The Home for Little Wanderers is a non-profit social service agency which has been helping people through difficult times for over 200 years.
We would like to be a source of support to you during this challenging time. We are not here to tell you what you should do, but rather to assist you in gaining information about your choices. We will provide you with counseling so that you can make an informed decision that is good for you and your child.
If you decide to parent, we will help you find support services to carry out that plan, and if you decide you are unable or not ready to parent, we can help you make a plan for adoption.
Is adoption right for me?
Adoption is a decision that is made out of love and concern. It is a very unselfish act and is very courageous. The choice to place one's child for adoption is made for a variety of reasons.
Often, a single woman may want her child to have two parents, or a couple may feel that they are too young or too financially strained to parent a child. Sometimes, expectant/birth parents may feel that they need more time to further their education or career before having a family. Occasionally, a birth family has a baby born to them that has special needs that they feel could be better met by an adoptive family. Other times, a single mother or couple may already be struggling with parenting children and feel that they cannot adequately care for another.
If I place my baby for adoption, will I be sad forever?
The decision to place your child for adoption is a difficult one, to say the least, and relinquishing a child for adoption is a major loss. You will grieve the loss of your child, but remember that the expression of grief is the beginning of a healing process. One of our roles is to support you through this time of grief and work with you in learning how to cope and accept the decision you have made.
You'll never forget your baby, but in time you most likely will learn to live with your decision. If you choose adoption, it will be because you believe that adoption can provide the kind of life you want your child to have, and that will bring comfort to you.
What does The Home for Little Wanderers do to screen the adoptive parents?
Before we will approve a family for adoption, we spend a significant amount of time educating them about building their family through adoption. We explore with them both the unique challenges and joys that parenting an adopted child can present. We look at their individual stability as well as the strength of their marriage. Their medical histories, financial resources, lifestyles, child rearing practices and motivations for wanting to adopt are examined. We look to see that there is a lot of love, stability, security, and understanding in their home.
How involved can I be in choosing the family for my child?
You can be as involved as you like. In fact, many expectant/birth parents come to the agency with a family already identified. You can select parents from letters and photographs and if you wish, you can meet with them at any time. If you would prefer, your counselor can assist you in selecting a family.
Will I be able to keep in touch with my child's adoptive parents and see how my baby is doing?
You and the adoptive family may decide together how often and to what extent you will be in touch. It may be that you decide that The Home will pass along information between you and the adoptive parents or you and the family may agree to stay in touch directly.
What if I am making an adoption plan, and along the way change my mind and want to parent my baby?
In Massachusetts, the law states that a birth mother cannot sign an adoption relinquishment until four days after giving birth. However, once a relinquishment is signed, it is irrevocable. At The Home for Little Wanderers, we encourage expectant/birth parents to take time before making that final decision, recognizing that the birth/delivery itself is a time full of emotional and physical challenges.
Therefore, expectant/birth parents whom are making an adoption plan, can change their minds any time up until a relinquishment is signed.
