open adoption

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.

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Latest blogosphere posts tagged “open adoption”

• Living with regrets

  
  this woman's work — Authority: 123
  It’s not usually that I’m on the other side of so many people who I usually agree with but here I am, totally on the other side. The comments to that last post are really interesting and a good reminder to me that everyone has different limits. It’s a lesson I need an awful lot so I appreciate it. Speaking ...
  20 hours ago

• Down to the bone

  
  this woman's work — Authority: 123
  This is a very rambling entry but it can’t be helped. Beloved SusieBook got some not so great news the other day. She’s been reaching out to her son’s mom to see if maybe they could push to a deeper place in their relationship with each other. For SusieBook, this would mean being able to express some of the ...
  1 day ago

• Holiday Visits

  
  Evil Mommy — Authority: 116
  The past few days have been…pretty eventful. I can’t bring myself to write a lot about yesterday – maybe another time – but today is another story. We had a visit with M & C today. It was the first time either of them have been to the house. Ever. I was a little anxious. In other news, the ocean is ...
  3 days ago

• Primal Wound Book Tour

  
  Eggs Benedict Arnold — Authority: 91
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  1 week ago

• Cupcakes in the Rain

  
  Stop, Drop and Blog — Authority: 126
  It’s raining today. Appropriate. We made these cupcakes yesterday . I shared them here, in their finished state, for those who maybe don’t know our story. It would have helped if I had written a long, eloquent post about the Munchkin, her birth and our open adoption but today’s post space at Chronicles ...
  1 week ago

• Desperation, adoption and deception: One woman’s battle to get her daughter back

  
  PhD in Parenting — Authority: 466
  I’ve been aware of Carla Moquin’s fabulous work on the Babies at Work initiative and the Parenting in the Workplace Institute since she started commenting on my blog over a year ago. She has helped numerous companies to set up babies at work programs, has written books called How to Start a Babies-at-Work ...
  1 week ago

• Open Adoption Roundtable 11: Holidays

  
  The Chronicles of Munchkin Land — Authority: 411
  Part of Open Adoption Roundtable 11 . The holidays are hard for me to even bother considering right now, this week, as the Munchkin’s birthday looms heavy on the horizon. These two topics, birthdays and holidays, are so deeply twined together in my psyche that I wonder if I can fully separate them or, really, ...
  1 week ago

• Another Country Heard From: China Adoption

  
  Extraordinary Moms Network — Authority: 119
  This morning I noticed a link to my blog at “China Adoption,” and stopped by to check out the blog. Sadly, this is not the first time I’ve been attacked by a mandatory open records advocate, and I suspect it won’t be the last. However, I’m not alone in advocating for a standard of mutual consent with ...
  1 week ago

• Holidays: OAB Roundtable #11

  
  Evil Mommy — Authority: 116
  This bi-weekly installment of the Open Adoption Bloggers Roundtable is about the holidays, and it goes like this: An open-ended prompt this round, because it’s always interesting to see where each of us takes it: Write about open adoption and the holiday season. Previously written posts work, too. I don’t ...
  2 weeks ago

• Open adoption with baby we didn’t adopt?

  
  Open Adoption Support — Authority: 114
  I took full care of a friends baby from the time he was born until the day he was adopted. During her pregnancy and after his birth I was to adopt him. However, she changed her mind and found a family out of state. I had to hand over my baby. It is an open adoption and we all had an agreement. The birth mother and I ...
  2 weeks ago

• More Calls, More Love

  
  The Chronicles of Munchkin Land — Authority: 411
  I was knee deep in Christmas decorations when the phone rang on the day after Thanksgiving. I recognized the ringtone as the one that belonged to D and I flung myself across the room, tangling myself in lights and garland on the way. I answered the phone expecting to hear D’s voice. It was the Munchkin. She told ...
  2 weeks ago

• ABCs Find My Family: Is Reality TV Good For Our Rights, Or Adoption Exploitation?

  
  73adoptee - adoption search, reunion and reform — Authority: 405
  Everyone in the adoption community is talking about ABCs new show Find My Family. My question to you: Is reality TV good for adoptee and birth parent rights, or is it exploitation? Many are wondering who is actually doing the searching for Find My Family. I may be stirring up a hornets nest, but heres what ...
  3 weeks ago

• Blog: # Find My Family & my experience w/the adoptive parents of my son

  
  Pure, Unadulterated Joy — Authority: 114
  By Joy A. Kennelly Seeing as this IS my personal blog, although Ive been putting more of my professional and political stuff on here for higher visibility, I feel like getting personal seeing as the new reality show, Find My Family , is airing tonight for the first time after Dancing with the Stars . Also, since ...
  4 weeks ago

• OAB Roundtable #10: Speaking of birthdays…

  
  Evil Mommy — Authority: 116
  This OAB Roundtable (I skipped the last one due to, um, extenuating circumstances) is hosted by Thanksgivingmom . It’s about birthdays. This is a topic that is very timely for me ( Thanksgivingmom ) right now, but is something that all of us in open adoption deal with at least once during the year: ...
  4 weeks ago

• Phone Rings, Lights Go On

  
  The Chronicles of Munchkin Land — Authority: 411
  Life is made up of the little moments. I love when I catch those little moments and recognize them for their true worth. Sometimes a hug is more than just an embrace. Sometimes a passing glance is more than just the catch of an eye. Sometimes these small things are pivotal in our lives. All too often we don’t ...
  4 weeks ago

• More on Madison’s conversation

  
  this woman's work — Authority: 123
  Maybe said (referring to how Madison thinks Pennie is prettier than I am): Another thought I had – it’s positive that Madison sees a woman of color as being petty – this will help her identify with with other woman of color as she matures and not try to trick herself into thinking she is “white.” I’ve ...
  4 weeks ago

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