Having the baby adopted

If you have decided that you do not want an abortion but you do not want to bring up the baby yourself – adoption could be a choice for you.

If you wish, you can involve the father however you do not have to tell anyone who the father is, if you don’t want to.

You will still need to have antenatal care as soon as possible, to keep you and your baby in good health.

If your baby is adopted then the adopted parents legally become the parents of the child. You can change your mind at any stage BEFORE the adoption is made legal by the courts. It might not be easy or even possible to get your baby back, depending on how far the adoption has progressed, but the court will make a decision based on what is best for the baby. Once the adoption has been made legal you CANNOT change your mind and have the child back later.

Adoptions are not completed until after the baby is born but you can start preparing for this during your pregnancy.  A doctor, nurse or social worker can help or you can call the British Association of Adoption and Fostering on 020 7421 2600 or visit www.baaf.org.uk.

You may have strong feelings about the sort of family you would like to adopt your child – you can discuss these with the adoption agency so that they can, wherever possible try to meet your wishes. 

Usually before adoption is finalised, the baby will go to foster carers for a short time. This is so that arrangements can be made for the move to the adoptive parents.

Any young person who has been adopted has the right to seek their birth parents when they are 18 years old. This is something to consider and you may want to make plans for this possibility.