Open adoption

A door that is not closed is open, even if just by the smallest crack. Eyes need not be propped wide to see, as a squint can reveal all that’s needed of a panorama. Adoptions can also have degrees of openness that differentiates them from being closed, but by no means, means the same thing in every case.

What is open adoption?

The term ‘open adoption’ may indicate nothing more than that specific identifying information is exchanged between birth and adoptive parents for the purpose of contact between the two families regarding the child they share. At the other end of the broad spectrum of possibilities that is open adoption, it can also mean get-togethers for birthdays, shared vacations, and family boundaries that stretch to include the whole adoptive clan and most of the bio relatives, as well.

Although there is a term for fully participating birth families, ”cooperative adoption” is not used as often as “open adoption,” or to emphasize encompassing relationships, fully open adoption.

Open adoption in history

Although some may get the impression that open adoption is a new idea, historically it was more common than not. In the past, when childbirth was the number one killer of women, babies who lost their mothers as they came into the world were most often raised by a family within the community in constant contact with the birth family. (This is still the case in many countries.)

In 1920s America it was accepted practice for poor women to advertise their children for adoption, then sift through responses looking for the family they would choose to place with. This didn’t go over well at all with social workers and such, so systems were put in place to take this out of the hands of expectant parents.

It wasn’t until the 1930s that confidentiality developed into the standard. Keeping information on adoptive families out of the hands of birth families, and vice versa, was perceived to safeguard against baby selling. It was also believed that removing the possibility of relinquished children later locating birth parents would result in fewer abortions. The thought that adopted children could likewise never be found convinced some that adoptive parents were somehow protected, as well. Children, it was decided, were better off if their influences were limited to those of the adoptive family alone.

This was also a time when adoption was a dirty word, and many kids grew up with no idea that they came into the family after starting life in another. There’s no shortage of shocked adult adoptees forced to deal with issues of trust and false histories after a lifetime of lies.

Today’s ideas on open adoption

Presently, there are as many ideas about open adoptions as there are adoptive and birth parents, and adoptees. The topic is discussed in blogs and forums almost daily in one form or another, and a debate on every aspect is never hard to find.

The AdoptionProducts.Com offers a book that can help: Two leading experts provide an authoritative and reassuring guide to the issues and concerns of adoptive and birth families through all stages of the open adoption relationship, from making the decision through the child's growing years. One of the best available books about open adoption. Melina and Roszia's book is a must-have for anyone interested in open adoption. Particularly helpful for professionals and the birth and adoptive parents involved in an open adoption, "The Open Adoption Experience" covers every aspect of an adoption in which birth and adoptive parents seek to establish and maintain ongoing relationships.

Credits: Sandra Hanks Benoiton