I knew I wanted her to have everything; a stable home with stable parents. I realized I couldn’t do it by myself. I wanted her to know how loved she was. I knew I was handing my daughter to someone who was going to love her just as much as I loved her, so that was really powerful for me.”
For Expectant Fathers
At New Life Adoptions, we work with both expectant mothers and expectant fathers, meeting you where you are at in your situation. We can meet with you either together or separately to answer your questions and talk about your situation. You can meet the prospective adoptive family with the expectant mother or have a separate meeting. We always recommend separate openness agreements with the adoptive family for you and the expectant mother regardless of whether you are in a relationship with her or not.
In Minnesota, you as a father need to be involved in an adoption if you are married to the mother or if you have earned the right to notice of the adoption. No matter what your legal involvement is, you are welcome to be included in making an adoption plan. Because father’s rights vary for each adoption, it is important to discuss your situation with one of our Expectant Parent Social Workers. We will assist you with the legal steps to complete a secure adoption.
As an expectant father, pregnancy and adoption planning will feel different for you than it does for the expectant mother. Your desire to be involved may change throughout the process as the pregnancy progresses or even after the baby is born. Your involvement can look different depending on what your relationship is like with the expectant mother.
Regardless of how much you are involved in the decision making and adoption plan, all expectant fathers can play an important role by filling out a social and medical history packet. By doing so, you provide important medical information to the adoptive family and your child in a way that is non-identifying.
Below are some questions to think through as you consider adoption as an option:
- How can I be involved in the decision-making process?
- What rights do I have in an adoption?
- Can I have openness with the adoptive family and my child?
- How do I support the expectant mother and her decision?
- What if I just found out about the pregnancy and she’s already made an adoption plan?
- I’m not the biological father but I want to be involved. What will that look like?
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