Making a Hospital Plan in Open Adoption

Adoptive parents are often asked to be present at the hospital in open adoptions. This emotional time is complex for both adoptive and birth parents to navigate, and hospital staff often do not help. Host Dawn Davenport spoke with Dr. Jennifer Bliss, the National Associate Counseling Director at the Independent Adoption Center, a non-profit domestic infant adoption agency; and Rebecca Vahle, Adoption Program Coordinator and founder of the Family to Family Adoption Support Program at Parker Adventist Hospital in Parker, Colorado- just southeast of Denver.

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Hit the Highlights

Is there any standard adoption support program in hospitals throughout the US?
What issues arise for expectant parents and adoptive parents in the hospital, before and after birth?
Who makes the medical decisions for the infant while in the hospital?
What can adoptive parents do ahead of time to make the time in the hospital run as smoothly as possible?
What are the elements to a successful hospital plan for open adoption?
How can hospitals and adoptive parents be sensitive to birth parents after birth, but before they have finalized their adoption plans?

For more information from this show and a discussion of this topic, check out Dawn’s blog on the show: Crafting a Goodbye in Open Adoption. Please join the discussion or leave your thoughts about the show in the comments on the blog.