First becoming de rigeur in the early 1990s, open adoptions are created when parents in an unplanned pregnancy choose the forever parents for their child. The four parents then negotiate the amount and type of contact the child will have with the birth parents, likely followed by an ongoing conversation about a child-centered relationship.
Open adoptions acknowledge that the child holds the biology of one set of people and the biography of another. Benefits include having access to the unfolding medical history of the genetic family, helping the child to integrate all facets of him/herself, and the ability to share with the child full information of his/her birth circumstances. Children don't suffer when they are loved by too many people.
Drawbacks can occur when the adults are unable to communicate, when boundaries are in question, or when one party closes the adoption unexpectedly.
Research on how children who grow up in open adoptions fare is now becoming available. It is generally understood that open adoptions, overall, work well for birth parents, adopted children, and adoptive parents.
by Lori
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