Adoption is a common process that imposes strains on not only the child, but on the birth parent as well. When a woman is faced with an unplanned pregnancy she has several options to choose from that will best benefit both her and her unborn baby. She can raise the child herself, but for many unplanned pregnancies, the mother usually is not financially ready to take on such a responsibility. Babies are very expensive, and can cost nearly $2,000 a month in diapers, blankets, first aid, car seat, crib, hygiene products, and a long list of other necessities.
Abortion is considered the total opposite of parenting. When a woman decides to have an abortion, her pregnancy ends with death; she is not giving her child a chance at life at all. While it is a quick way to get rid of an unwanted pregnancy, it is definitely not painless. Having an abortion takes a toll on a woman’s reproductive organs, risking infertility and flat out pain upon having the procedure.
Aside from the negative connotations associated with abortion, the cost of having one is in itself a drawback. Abortions, depending on how along a woman waits to have one, cost anywhere from $500 to $2,000. There is also the emotional drawback that comes from having an abortion. It can be hard for a birth parent to get over it, and many times the immediate feeling that comes over them is regret: she will never get to see that child grow up and will never even know who that baby was.
Adoptions serve as a happy medium between parenting and abortion. When a woman decides to give her baby up for adoption, she searches among hundreds of couples who are in search of a baby to raise as their own. These people want to help give a child the life he or she deserves.
Perhaps the biggest advantage to the birth parent is that it costs nothing to choose adoption. In fact, the adoptive family pays for all pregnancy related expenses, such as medical care and living expenses, and may include as much as rent, maternity clothing, prenatal vitamins, food, and any other expenses not covered by your insurance or Medicaid.
Some people feel that adoption is the way a birth mother tells her child “I don’t love you,” but that is far from the truth. On the contrary, creating an adoption plan for a child is an extremely unselfish act in that puts the child's best interest above the mother’s. It is the ultimate sacrifice for a mother to allow someone else to give her child a life that she cannot provide.
Although it is true that this will not be easy for the adopted child to understand at first, the birth parent is able to design a unique adoption plan that can give the child as much information about herself as she wants. In fact, as the child gets older, they will come to understand that what their birth parents did for them is something that many people do not have the courage to do. Many adopted children are able to hold a healthy relationship with both their biological and adoptive parents.
By Kelley Caner