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Adoption As An Option

There are so many myths and misinformation when it comes to placing your baby for adoption. It is our role to help you understand your options. We would love to speak with you in person, or over facetime– however you are most comfortable. You will see that we’re real people, prepared to be really honest, so that we can help you and your baby have a very real new beginning.

How does adoption work?

Learn Your Options

To get started, we need you to reach out to us by phone (662-842-6752 or 662-213-0369) or email (jessica@newbeginningsadoptions.org) to let us know you would like to learn more about adoption. We will tell you about the process and the services we provide to make sure you have a safe and healthy pregnancy at no cost to you. We will respond to the emotional and physical needs you have during your pregnancy and support you at all times.

Adoption Family Choice

When you feel comfortable with your decision and are ready to look at adoptive family profiles, we will help you review the awesome families we have on our list and answer any questions you might have. You can choose a family that you feel will be the best fit for you and your unborn baby. You can also choose whether you want an open, semi-open or closed adoption. Maybe it’s too hard to choose, and we understand. New Beginnings is willing to facilitate the matching process if that is your choice.

Final Step

As you get closer to delivery, we will work directly with the hospital staff to make sure that delivery goes as expected for you and the adoptive couple. According to the law in Mississippi, you cannot sign any parental consents until 72 hours after the baby is born. We will help you through that process. Papers will be signed privately with you and your case worker.

Creating Your Adoption Plan

It is important to remember adoption is not foster care. Foster care is temporary. Adoption is permanent and stable. Parenting a child is a commitment to provide a stable, loving and permanent home for a child. If you don’t believe you are able to provide that at this point in your life for whatever reason, adoption may be the best option for you. Adoption is NOT abandonment. It is choosing a family for a child when you are not at a place in your life to provide stability or a two-parent family.

Open Adoption

This means you can choose and meet the family and have the option of seeing the child again in the future.

Semi-Open Adoption

You may choose and meet the family, but ongoing contact is handled through the agency. The family will send pictures and letters to keep you updated about the child’s progress. You can send gifts, letters, and photos.

Closed/Confidential Adoptions

You may choose the family if you wish, but you have the option of having no contact after the child is placed.

When you make an adoption plan, you will have:

The right to be involved in all phases of the adoption plan.

The right to choose and meet the adoptive family that is perfect for your child.

The right to be treated with dignity and respect.

The right to have your questions answered honestly.

The right to continue to receive support and counseling after making an adoption plan.

Birthmother Resources

FAQs

Do I receive any counseling while in the New Beginnings program?

Yes. The social workers at New Beginnings counsel with all of our clients during their pregnancy. There is also post-partum counseling available.

What about my medical bills and other expenses?

While in the New Beginnings program there are no expenses to you—medical or living. Financial assistance is determined on a case-by-case basis.

Can I be sure that my child is placed in a safe and secure home?

As a licensed agency, we have guidelines that must be followed to make sure that all adoptive parents are secure financially, do not have a criminal record of any kind, that they have a stable marriage, that their home meets all safety standards and that they truly understand the concept of adoption, including a respect for birth parents. Also, a worker will visit their home after the child has been placed with them to make sure the placement is successful. You also will receive photos and updates about your child if you wish. Pictures are available of the couple’s home and family.

If I do make an adoption plan, will the sad feelings ever go away?

YES! An adoption choice is a life transition that can be difficult and emotional; it is not a lifelong grieving and recovery process. Lila, a nineteen year old birthmother said “I’ll always miss her and think of her, but I’ll never regret giving her the family that could give her the life that I never could. I believe that someday she will find me and tell me what a good thing I did for her.” Research has shown that birthmothers who make an adoption plan show the same level of satisfaction with their decision as those who choose to parent their child. The only two people that have any “legal” control over an adoption plan are the birthparents (the birthmother and the birthfather.)

Is adoption a good choice for me and my child?

It’s a wonderful choice. Your baby can be blessed with a wonderful, stable, loving family, and you can work toward your life goals, knowing that your child is being parented by a family you chose.

Will I get pictures and updates of my baby?

Yes. Every adoption has its own unique plan. Most families send pictures and updates periodically, while some have extensive on-going contact by phone or visits. Every birthmother and adoptive couple has their own level of comfort in this area, and we do our best to make everyone feel comfortable.

How can I choose the family I want for my baby?

We have many adoptive families available – some on this web site – and many others whose profiles are in our office. You choose a family based on what is important to you – whether it’s a religious preference, a preference about where they live, their educational level, whether or not you want them to have other children and just about any other preference you may be able to think of. You may meet them or talk to them by phone before your child is born. It is important for you to be completely comfortable with your choice!

If my child chooses to find me one day, how can that happen?

If you choose a confidential adoption and have had no contact with your child, and your child chooses to search for you, someone from the agency will contact you and coordinate contact on whatever level you desire. You have the choice about contact and your desires will be respected. There is no “right or wrong” when it comes to contact – what matters is that you are comfortable with your choice.

Will I need to hire an attorney to complete my adoption plan?

No, all legal services for the adoption process are handled by the agency.

Will my baby be able to go directly with the family I choose?

Yes, some birthmoms want the adoptive family there for the birth of the child. If you don’t want that, the family will be there whenever you desire and your baby can go with the family as soon as the hospital discharge is complete. The family can even spend time with the baby in the hospital, to begin the bonding process, if you would like that to happen. Again, the choice is yours.

When can I sign the adoption papers?

Mississippi: You will not be pressured into signing anything, because paperwork allowing a child to be placed for adoption cannot be signed until 72 hours after delivery. Tennessee: In Tennessee, the termination process is slightly different. Four days after the delivery, you and your legal representation (optional) will have to go before the judge to complete the termination process. After that court visit, you will have an additional three days to change your mind before the termination is final. If you change your mind after the initial court visit, you will have to go before the judge to revoke the surrender.

Will my child be able to have information about me?

Absolutely, if that is what you desire. You may write a letter, send a gift or any other type of memento with the family for your child. All of our adoptive families are trained to “normalize” adoption from the very beginning. They will stress to your child that you made an adoption plan for your child BECAUSE of your unselfish and true love. Your child will know that you made this difficult decision because you cared more about the long-term welfare of your child than you did about your own emotions and feelings.

What about the father of the child? What rights does he have?

He does have rights, but those vary based on the state where your child is born. However, if you do not have a comfortable relationship with him, we will be glad to handle that area of the adoption process for you.

Am I allowed to have contact with the family or my child after placement?

The choice is yours. You may choose a confidential, semi-open or completely open adoption. You decide what level of contact you will want with your child and the adoptive parents. We will match you with a family that is comfortable with the level of contact that you desire.

Who should I trust to assist me with my adoption plan?

A reputable, licensed adoption agency will provide the most secure adoption plan for you. That matters now and in the future. As an agency with many years of experience in adoption, we’ve heard some sad stories from birthmothers that chose to work with a “facilitator” or a private attorney. They were frustrated because they did not feel that their interests were a priority. They did not receive counseling and after placement, they felt as if there was no one they could call. If an attorney or facilitator is out of business, your adoption records may be lost forever. Licensed agencies are required to maintain adoption records in a fireproof setting forever! At New Beginnings, we will help you develop an adoption plan that is EXACTLY what you want. Your preferences matter to us and we will be here for you – now and in the future.

Statistics

School failure

Only 40% of teen mothers will graduate from high school.

Growing up without a father

90% of homeless and runaway children come from fatherless homes

Insufficient health care

Less than 8% of teen dads marry their child’s mom

Poverty

50% of children raised by teen mothers are referred to social service agencies

Growing up without a father

71% of pregnant teens come from a fatherless home

Abuse and neglect

82% of male inmates in U.S. prisons come from a fatherless home

— Statistics from “Decisions, Choices & Options” (Joi Wasill)

Fetal Development Facts

When is a human a human?

An unborn baby has a heart beat at 18-22 days after conception.
Brainwaves can be detected at 40-45 days after conception.
All the major body parts and organs are present at the end of 8 weeks.

When is a human a human?
Dr. Jerome Lejeune (geneticist) said, “As soon as the 23 chromosomes carried by the sperm encounter the 23 chromosomes carried by the ovum…a new human being is defined…”
— Statistics from “Decisions, Options & Choices” (Joi Wasill)

Consequences of Abortion

“This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God; listen to his voice and hold fast to him.”
Deuteronomy 30:19-20

“In 1981, I chose abortion as a way out of a crisis pregnancy. At the time, I felt trapped and like there was no other option. Every day people make choices. Often they are bad choices with dire consequences. According to statistics from Focus on the Family, 44% of all American women will have an abortion at some point in their lifetime.”

Consequences of Abortion

It has been said, “A woman chooses abortion like an animal caught in a trap chooses to gnaw off its leg.” Today, women across our nation will make that same decision. Most of these women will not hear about abortion alternatives.

“There is a better way and there is a way we can help. Adoption is a choice everyone can live with. Crisis pregnancy centers and homes for unwed mothers are struggling in the fight to save lives and spare women the devastation of an abortion experience.”

“People are unaware of the trauma that a woman faces after her abortion experience. Many women who choose abortion are going against their own moral code. In a survey on 260 post abortive women, over 50% of the women responded they agreed their decision to abort was “inconsistent with her prior beliefs and a betrayal of her own ideals.”

Post Abortion Syndrome

In “Forbidden Grief,”Theresa Burke writes:
“Consequently, many women experience trauma known as Post Abortion Syndrome. The inability to process the guilt, anger, and grief related to the abortion will bring symptoms such as: depression, suicidal thoughts, flashback memories, nightmares, eating disorders, etc. The truth about the painful consequences of abortion is not common knowledge in our country. Since there is so much pain, women bear the consequences in secret.

Breaking the silence about abortion and its consequences will help those facing a crisis pregnancy to choose life and live. It also will help to bring healing to those who have carried the awful secret and pain of their abortion choice. There are words of life that will bring blessing and not cursing. We can help others to choose life and live.”

Resources

Focus on the Family – Healing After Abortion by Teri Ki Reisser, M.S.,M.F.T. and Paul C. Reisser, M.D.Copyright – 2002
Forbidden Grief by Theresa Burke with David C. Reardon, 2002. Acorn Books – Springfield Illinois.

Abortion

Almost 1.2 million unborn children are aborted each year in the United States, while at the same time, each year, in the United States, 1.2 million families are on the waiting lists of licensed adoption agencies. The Lord has provided homes for the unborn children and is certainly grieved when innocent children pay the price for our mistakes. There is an alternative to abortion that has been tested and proven effective for thousands of years. It is God’s plan and His plans are good. New Beginnings is an adoption agency that wants to help you during this difficult time.

We do not condemn those who have chosen abortion out of all the pregnancy options—we offer a better way and support for taking the path of “life”. We offer abortion alternatives. At the same time, we help minister to those who have chosen abortion in the past. Thank you for visiting New Beginnings, we hope to have the opportunity to help you through this challenging time in your life.

Awaiting Families

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Whether it’s a quick question or you’re looking to learn more about your options, We’re here for you.

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