When you adopt a child, you want to provide everything for them and make them a part of your family. Concerns about interference by biological parents can lead some people to seek a closed adoption.
In a closed adoption, an adopted child cannot be in contact with their biological parents and may not even have the ability to access information about their identity until they become an adult.
In an open adoption, the biological parents may have visitation and could play a topical role in the life of the child. Why do some adoptive parents choose an open adoption?
Even the best adoption can be traumatic for children
Even in a clear-cut scenario where it is obvious that the biological mother or parents could not provide for a child and where the adoptive parents are very devoted to the child, it is common for the child to have emotional trauma over perceived abandonment.
Having a relationship with their biological parent can reduce that feeling of abandonment or being unwanted and replace it with the knowledge that they have not just one but two sets of parents who love them.
Open adoptions allow for sharing of family medical histories
Family circumstances can change as people age. The biological parent of your child may not have known that there was a family history of heart disease or cancer until their own parents suffer from those conditions later in life. Having direct communication with the biological parent(s) of an adopted child will mean that you know right away when medical or family issues that could impact your child’s health and happiness arise.
Open adoptions can also sometimes be more accessible, as more mothers may be willing to follow through with an adoption when they know that they can still see and give love to the child they can’t currently provide for. Considering an open adoption can mean dealing with more complications as an adoptive child grows, but can also mean more support and love for everyone involved.
