What are the Chances of a Newborn Baby Being Adopted?
I was scanning through a list of questions that people used to find Adoption Under One Roof, and I was surprised to come across the following one:
What are the chances of a newborn baby on being adopted?
This question surprised me because, as somebody who had to wait a long time to adopt a newborn baby, the answer seemed obvious to me. However, somebody who is new to adoption might not know the answer to this question, so I thought I would address it.
The short answer is that newborn babies do not have to wait for an adoptive home. There are multiple hopeful adoptive families waiting to adopt each newborn baby that becomes available for adoption.
When hub and I were looking into infant adoption (back in 1999), the wait for a healthy Caucasian newborn could be anywhere from two weeks to two-plus years with our agency. Another agency quoted a three to five year wait. For each healthy newborn that was placed for adoption, 10+ families were “competing” to adopt the baby.
When I went through the orientation, I happened to sit with an African-American (AA) woman who was hoping to adopt an AA newborn. The director said that her wait would be very short because there were not as many families waiting to adopt healthy AA and biracial babies through the agency.
I do not know what has changed between 1999 and today, but multiple hopeful adoptive families now “compete” and wait for all newborn babies, not just healthy Caucasian ones. I know several adoptive families who waited several months to adopt AA and biracial babies. I even know some who waited months to adopt newborns with specials needs.
So, the bottom line is that, if a woman places a newborn baby for adoption, that baby is going to find an adoptive home and is very unlikely to have much of a wait, if any wait at all. Placing mothers can pick and choose among several hopeful adoptive families and choose the family that they believe will be the best match for the baby. There is no need to worry about whether a newborn baby will find an adoptive home.
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Adoption
I want to adopt a Caucasian baby/infant. I am a single mother and want to do this for a few years now, but keep on getting to dead ends. Please help me to adopt my long waited baby. Hope to hear from you soon. I want to give a child the life it deserves, and I know I will be the best mom any child can wish for.
Baby
An Unknown Father
Is that with or without "mayo"?
"my long waited" "it", for whom is your quest about?
Infant Adoption Uncommon
If you look at the statistics, infant "stranger" adoption is the most uncommon form of adoption. I am also single and looked at my odds of adopting via domestic/infant route back in 1999. The odds weren't good.... and honestly I am very uncomfortable with domestic infant adoption practices in this country. So I turned to my local foster care system (run on a county level in my state). I couldn't even get anyone to return my phone call.
So then I looked at international adoption. I adopted my darling daughter at 3.5 years of age from Ukraine in 2000. She has recently turned 12 years old and is doing great.
Many single women turned to international adoption for very similar reasons to mine.... I have heard that single parents have an easier time adopting from foster care in my area now. And John (who commented on this thread) is a single dad who adopted from foster care multiple times.
This is going to sound harsh, but I don't mean it that way.... There is no way to adopt a "Gerber" baby with the fat, cute cheeks. It is safest to look at any adoption as a "special needs" adoption. When I first started my adoption research I thought that I would adopt an infant. But the longer I researched and thought about it, the less pull I felt toward infant adoption.
My first child referral in Ukraine was for an 18 month old. I turned the referral down because I wanted at child who was 3 years and older. My goal was to try and skip the diapers.
I know many parents who adopted older children. There are still many "firsts" with the child.
If you have any interesting in exploring older child adoption, I can send you reading suggestions. John has written about adopting older children from foster care; http://ouradopt.com/category/john
"Unknown father" is a birth father who fought (and lost) to parent his child. He wrote a couple of blogs; http://ouradopt.com/category/david-archuletta
AngelaW
The ones that you love the most are usually the ones that hurt you the most. - Unknown
Very true
...the part about assuming all adoptions are special needs. I have a friend who adopted twice. Both were domestic infant adoptions. One son has autism, and the other has diabetes, and neither situation is mild. They adore their sons and do great with their issues, but definitely did not expect them. And these are seasoned foster parents, so they know the whole spectrum.
New Jersey Adoption Determinations
An Unknown Father
Hi Angela, Just to keep my situation a little more accurate, I just want to point out one thing. I would have been a parent to my son if adoption law was followed by Veronica Serio of Children of the World Adoption Agency. [Now out of business due to stirrings of my case.] New Jersey double-standard adoption law and Adoption Attorney Steven I. Sklar's deplorable actions of deceit and deception also played a part.
I lost my right to parent by means of other people's illegal activity. That withstanding, due to the age of my son and his innocence I chose not to legally battle the adoptive parents for custody. I know in my heart that these people were privy to the above stated illegal activity. Did not they care for or ask about prenatal medical records?
Therein, the only thing I fought and [lost] was my battle to expose the ways and means of adoption fraud. This type of activity grows daily.
Thanks For Clarification
Thanks for the clarification.
AngelaW
The ones that you love the most are usually the ones that hurt you the most. - Unknown
Which question
'What are the chances of a newborn baby who needs and adoptive home being adopted?' would be one possible reading of the question. This is a newbie however. Could they actually be asking 'What percentage of newborn babies are adopted at birth?' In other words, how commonly does this happen.