Modern Adoption vs. Past Adoption

Adoption has changed in the past century. From mother’s rights to important processes, adoption looks very different today. Modern adoption is all about building families, where adoption processes of the past did not. Adoption Choices of Florida wants to create families that will last while respecting the rights of birth mothers everywhere. The present does not have to, and will not, repeat the past.

Orphan Train Movement: Putting Kids Up For Adoption In The Past

During the Orphan Train Movement, children were put up for adoption by being shipped from the East Coast to the Midwest on trains. Upon reaching their destination, the children were placed upon train platforms for prospective adoptive parents to view and choose. Adoption was unfortunately not about building families, as it was about gaining dependents and workers for farms and households. Today, adoption is about creating families and spreading love.

Birth Mother Rights

Birth mothers were not given a second thought in regard to their child’s adoption in the past. Today, birth mothers are informed of their rights by their Florida adoptions caseworkers. You now have the right to:

• Decide on future visitation through adoption agreements.
• Choose your child’s adoptive family.
• Have control over your medical decisions.

Adoption Agreements and Visitation

Deciding on your adoption agreements means you can decide how much future contact you wish to have with your child. If you wish to have visits and phone calls in the future, I recommend opting for a semi-open or open adoption agreement with your child’s adoptive family. If you would rather not have any contact with your child and their family in the future, I recommend opting for a closed adoption agreement.

Choosing Your Child’s Adoptive Family

Being in charge of choosing your child’s adoptive family allows you to decide what kind of people you want to raise your child. Are there certain values you wish to be instilled in your child? Would you like your child to be raised by a married couple, a single parent, a religious or secular couple? These are all possible options of parents your child could have. The choice belongs to you.

Adoption Birth Plans

Having medical autonomy means you have the right to decide who will be by your side in the delivery room, how you will deliver, plan your birth plan, and use pain medication during your labor. Depending on hospital pandemic guidelines, you can decide whether or not you wish to have your child’s adoptive parents in the delivery room, along with a friend or family member of your own. You can also decide who will help you through recovery following your delivery.

Adoption Agency Services

Today, our local adoption agencies help you find funding for any bills you may have during your pregnancy and recovery. You can be given assistance with anything from counseling and medical bills to housing and transportation to appointments. Funding may come in through your child’s adoptive parents, who distribute money for necessary expenses throughout your pregnancy and recovery through a trust set up by your adoption agency caseworker.

Past Taboos of Adoption

While many families hid their child’s adoption in the past, it is much more common for parents to be honest with their children about how their family was formed. In fact, because it is so much more common, there are many children’s books for these scenarios in order to help children to understand where they came from and how there is no shame in being adopted.

Birth Mothers Today: Teen Moms to Married Mothers

In the past, birth mothers were always thought to be unwed young women, but times have changed to show that it is actually much more common for people of all ages to place children up for adoption. Many birth mothers happen to be married, minors, legal adults, mothers to other children, and more. Birth mothers can be anyone from college students in Tallahassee to forty-year-old, married mothers in Miami who are already raising a number of children and are unable to raise their youngest and newest child. It is not shameful for a woman to be unable or unwilling to raise their child. You are still making sure your child is taken care of and loved, even if it is not by you.

Florida Adoption of Today

Adoption has gone through a lot of changes for the better. Birth parents, prospective adoptive parents, and children all benefit from these changes. One hundred years ago, birth mothers had no rights, no visitation, no choices, no aid from services or communities or other families. Today, birth mothers are given so much more support, along with their children. Adoption Choices of Florida is aware of how things have changed for the better and wants to live up to those ideals. Call us today and find a way to bring joy to your family and so many others.

If you are a pregnant woman in Florida considering adoption and have any questions or concerns about the adoption process, please don’t hesitate to reach out. For more information on adoption, visit us at Adoption Choices of Florida or call us at: (833) 352-3678 or text us at 904-559-1251