Parenting vs. Adoption

Counseling will provide an opportunity for you to explore your feelings, the pros and cons of parenting vs. adoption, and help you understand the impact of adoption on your life and the life of your child. You will never be pressured into considering adoption.  It is important that adoption be your choice.  It is a choice that you must feel confident about – believing that it is the very best plan for you and for your child.  It is the most unselfish choice that anyone can make.

Agency Adoption vs. Private Adoption

When you begin to consider adoption you may be approached by couples asking you to place your baby with them through private adoption.  Private adoption is legal in Texas and has worked for adoptive families and birth moms.  But, we believe that this decision should be made after learning the facts.  Click here to read about the differences between agency and private adoption.

Grief and Loss

The counseling provided to you will also help you deal with the grief and loss in adoption.  We want to show you how to face your grief and work through it in a healthy manner.  Women who choose to work through these feelings of loss, rather than avoiding them, can then come to a healthy emotional view of their adoption plan and their relationship with the adoptive family and the child.

Legal Issues

New Life will help you understand the legal process of adoption, including your own parental rights and those of the birthfather.  You do not have to have contact with the birthfather regarding adoption issues if you prefer not to.  New Life will communicate with him and convey the necessary information.

Monthly Support Group

New Life has a monthly support group for pregnant women and those who support them.  This is a decision-making group – exploring the choices available to you, hearing from women who have already given birth, and discussing grief and loss.  This group is also available for women who have already chosen to make an adoption plan and return to group for ongoing support and encouragement.  We meet the first Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. at our New Life office in Houston.

Choosing a Family

After counseling and preparation, you will be ready to choose a family for your baby.  You will be given the opportunity to view profiles and videos of adoptive families in the process of choosing the family you feel is right for your child.  After choosing a family, you can meet with them and get to know them.

Hospital Plan

We will prepare you for childbirth, help you think about the things that may be important to you during your hospital stay, and consider the time you will have to spend with your baby.  With your permission, we will inform the hospital staff and social worker of your adoption plan so they will be prepared for you when you give birth.  It is very important that you feel that you have control over your plan and your decisions.

Post Adoption Services

New Life will provide free post-adopt services for as long as a birthmother or birth family expresses a need.  We enjoy having contact with our birth families long after the birth and placement of their baby.  We are able to see them graduate from high school and college, get married and start their families.