How Adoption Network Supports Expectant Mothers

If you are pregnant and thinking about adoption, you probably have two kinds of questions. The practical ones: what happens if I reach out, what does it cost, who chooses the family. And the ones that are harder to say out loud: will they judge me, will the adoptive parents keep their promises, what will my child think of me. This page answers both kinds, as plainly as we can.

You can request free information any time. It is confidential, and reaching out does not commit you to anything. You can also call 1-800-367-2367 day or night. After hours, a live answering service takes your message and an adoption advisor calls you back.

What Happens When You Reach Out

Most expectant mothers contact us first through our website, and a lot of the early conversation happens by text or email. That is fine. You do not have to talk on the phone until you want to. An adoption advisor, a real person whose job is to help you understand your options, will respond. You can see who they are on our team page.

The first conversation is about you, not about adoption paperwork. Where you are in your pregnancy, what you are thinking about, what you need right now. Some women who contact us are sure about adoption. Many are not, and some are just exploring. All of that is okay. Nobody will push you toward a decision, and you can stop at any point.

What Support Is Available, at No Cost to You

There is never a cost to an expectant mother. Depending on what you need, your advisor can help with:

• Understanding all of your options, including parenting, not only adoption. See our page on unplanned pregnancy options.
• Getting medical care, and applying for Medicaid or other insurance coverage if you do not have it. See pregnancy health.
• Counseling and support from licensed social workers and other professionals, before and after placement. See what support is available.
• Talking with a peer mentor, a birth mother who has been through it.
• Help with pregnancy-related living expenses, where your state’s law allows it. See financial and emotional support.
• Figuring out what matters to you in an adoptive family, and then looking at waiting families with no commitment.
• Questions about the father, including whether his consent is needed in your state.

The Questions Expectant Mothers Ask Most

These come up in almost every conversation. Here is how we answer them.

How will the adoptive parents talk about me to my child?

This is the question we hear most, and it is usually the one that matters most. Women who have been through substance use, financial hardship, or other difficult circumstances do not want their child to grow up believing they were unwanted, unloved, or abandoned. They do not want the adoptive parents to portray them negatively because of the challenges they faced. They want to know the adoptive parents will speak about them with kindness, dignity, and respect, and help the child understand that adoption was a decision made out of love and concern for the child’s future.

This is something you can ask prospective adoptive parents directly, and your advisor will help you ask it. How a family answers tells you a lot, and it is a fair thing to make part of your decision.

How do I know my child will be safe?

You can ask, and you should. Expectant mothers frequently ask whether a family has passed background checks, completed a home study, and been evaluated for their ability to provide a secure home. They are especially concerned about criminal histories involving violence or offenses against children. Every family you are matched with has completed a home study, which includes criminal background checks, interviews, home visits, and a review of their finances and readiness to parent. Your advisor can tell you what the home study covers. Read about what a home study involves and background checks.

Will they really stay in touch after the adoption?

Many expectant mothers want some kind of ongoing connection with their child and the adoptive family: photographs, letters, phone calls, video calls, or occasional visits. The fear we hear most is that a family will promise contact before placement and stop after the adoption is final. That fear is reasonable, and we will not tell you it never happens. A finalized adoption cannot ordinarily be reversed because promised contact stopped, so you want confidence that the family means what they say.

What we can do is help you set clear, realistic expectations with the family before placement, in writing if you want. Some states make post-adoption contact agreements legally enforceable; many do not, and your advisor will tell you which applies to you. More than the paperwork, we help you have the direct conversations that show whether a family will honor their commitments. Read about open, semi-open, and closed adoption.

Will I be judged?

No. Our advisors talk with women in every kind of situation, every day. Your circumstances are not a reason for anyone here to think less of you. You are the one making decisions about your pregnancy and your child, and you keep that control the whole way through. If at any point you feel pressured, dismissed, or treated like a means of providing a child to a family, tell us. That is not how this is supposed to work.

Can I change my mind?

Before you sign consent, yes, at any time, for any reason. After signing, it depends on your state’s law. Adoption Network never asks an expectant mother to sign adoption consent before her baby is born. Read more about changing your mind and deciding after birth.

How This Has Changed Over the Years

Ten years ago, most of this happened over the phone. Today most expectant mothers reach us online first and do a lot of the early talking by text and email, and we have adapted to that. Not every woman who contacts us is sure she is pregnant or sure about adoption. Some are exploring, some are making a first inquiry without having decided anything. Our job is to meet you where you are, not to sort you into a category. What has not changed is that the relationship matters more than the channel. You will have an advisor who knows your situation and your name.

Where the Adoption Itself Happens

Adoption Network is not an adoption agency and does not finalize adoptions. Adoption Network’s adoption-related services are supervised by licensed California attorneys, and we work with licensed adoption attorneys and licensed adoption agencies in the state where your adoption would be finalized, in compliance with that state’s laws. Your advisor will explain who does what in your state, so there are no surprises.

Start When You Are Ready

Request free information and an adoption advisor will follow up with you. Everything is confidential, you decide the pace, and you can ask about any option, not only adoption.

Adoption Network is not an adoption agency or adoption facilitator. Adoption Network’s adoption services are supervised by licensed attorneys, and it works in coordination with licensed adoption attorneys and licensed adoption agencies throughout the United States, in compliance with the adoption-related laws of each state in which an adoption is finalized.