Domestic infant adoption, also known as baby adoption, domestic adoption, birth mother relinquishment adoption, and sometimes private adoption, is one way to adopt an infant in the US. 

It is possible to adopt a baby in the US using either an adoption agency or an adoption attorney. In most infant adoptions in the US, the expectant mother (or couple) chooses the adoptive parent or couple for her child.

While international adoptions have decreased in recent years, primarily due to countries closing their international adoption programs and costs and wait times increasing, it is still a popular choice for many adoptive parents, and there are still many children growing up in orphanages abroad in need of families.

Most of the children available for international adoption are toddlers or older kids and most have some special needs. If you are trying to decide if international adoption is best for you, check out our Quick Comparison Chart for the Different Types of Adoption.

Approximately 56,000 children are adopted each year from foster care, but about 100,000 kids are still waiting to be adopted. They are ready and available for parents. They are simply waiting. About 390,000 kids are in foster care and in need of foster parents while a decision is made on whether they will be able to be returned to their biological families or they will be available for adoption.

Providing kinship care for a loved one’s child can be one of the most loving acts of support you can offer a struggling family. Often, the adults involved intend for these arrangements to be temporary while the birth parents heal and get back on their feet.

Sometimes, with the help of wise counsel and an understanding of the legal options, you may decide to pursue the adoption of this child. Kinship adoption is becoming more common as a means of securing a child’s future and assuring that caregivers have access to all the rights and resources they need to raise this child well.

Embryo Donation (also sometimes called embryo adoption), is the donation of unused embryos by the parents that created them to another person or couple for family building.

In vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles can result in more embryos than a patient can transfer. These unused embryos are usually frozen for the couple to attempt another pregnancy, but some may remain after the couple completes their family. One option for embryo disposition is to donate the remaining embryos to another infertility patient for a frozen embryo IVF cycle.