The Effects of Semi Open Adoption

Author: ramadhanny

By Lyle Burwell, eHow Contributor

To understand the effects of semi-open adoptions, it is necessary to understand the effects of open and closed adoptions as well. Only once the effects of all three possible adoption types are understood can prospective parents properly judge which type of adoption is best for them and the child. Whatever type of adoption is agreed to, once an adoption is finalized the adopted parents are the child's legal parents and their parental rights cannot be rescinded.

Open Adoption

In an open adoption, the adopted child is raised knowing who her mother and, possibly, her father are. It is common for the birth mother to meet the adopting parents either before or shortly after the child is born. The adoptive parents may agree to provide the birth mother with regular updates and, in a minority of cases, even occasional visits. It is also typical in open adoptions that the child communicates with the birth parents as they grow.

Closed Adoption

In closed adoptions, the adoptive parents usually do not meet the birth mother, but this is not always the case. Often, the decision for a closed adoption is made by the birth mother. In closed adoptions, the names of the birth parents are normally sealed and cannot be unsealed, even years later, without the birth mother's consent.

Semi-Open Adoption

In semi-open adoptions, the adoptive parents may know something about the birth mother, but usually full names and contact information are unknown. The usual arrangement is that the adoptive parents provide updates on the child's progress (letters, pictures) to a third party such as the adoption agency or lawyer. The third party then forwards the updates to the birth mother or parents.

Effects

In an open adoption, children grow up knowing their birth mother. Whether this is an advantage or a disadvantage depends on what kind of person the birth mother is. In a closed adoption, the adoptive parents do not have to worry about what kind of people the birth parents are, but the price for this security is making it difficult, if not impossible, for the adopted child to re-establish contact with her birth parents at some point in the future. Child psychologists and others who work with adopted children have long noted the long-term effects adoption has on children. In reviewing the recommendations of these psychologists, the effect of a semi-open adoption is to avoid locking the child into a relationship with a possibly toxic birth mother without closing the door on the child reaching out to her as a young adult.

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