Adoption

After a few years of unsuccessful infertility treatment, many couples reconsider their desire to have a genetic child and adopt. They may even question why they endured so many years of medical treatments that didn't work.

Choose another disease or condition... Allergic Rhinitis Allergies, Food Allergy & Asthma Center Alzheimer's Disease Anxiety Aortic Aneurysms Arrhythmia Arthritis, Osteo- (OA) Arthritis, Rheumatoid (RA) Asthma Atopic Dermatitis Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Back Pain Brain Tumor Bones, Joints & Muscles Center Breast Cancer Brain & Behavior Center Brain Tumor Cancer Center    Brain Tumor    Breast Cancer    Cancer Prevention    Clinical Trials    Colorectal Cancer    Endometrial Cancer    Living With and Beyond Cancer    Lung Cancer    Prostate Cancer    Skin Cancer Cardiomyopathy Cataracts Cholesterol Control Clinical Trials Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Colorectal Cancer Congenital Heart Disease Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) Crohn's Disease Depression Diabetes Center Diabetes, Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Digestive Disorders Center Eczema Endometrial Cancer Erectile Dysfunction (ED) Eye & Vision Center Fibroids Fibromyalgia Food Allergies Gallstone Disease Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) GERD Glaucoma Hay Fever Headache Heart Center High Blood Pressure Hypertension Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) Impotence Insomnia Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Living With and Beyond Cancer Losing Weight Lung Cancer Macular Degeneration Memory Loss Osteoarthritis (OA) Osteoporosis Parkinson's Disease Peptic Ulcer Prediabetes Prostate Cancer Respiratory Disorders Center Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Sexual & Reproductive Health Center Sinusitis Skin Cancer Sleep Apnea Sleep Center Stroke Type 1 Diabetes Type 2 Diabetes Ulcerative Colitis (UC) Weight Control More Information About Sexual and Reproductive Health More Information About Infertility Infertility-Related Clinical Trials Information U.S. News's Health & Wellness Support Networks Email this page Print this section

Before beginning the process of adoption, people who have been going through infertility treatment should take time to grieve the loss of having a genetic connection with their child. For some people, that takes a long time; others come around to the idea quickly.

It may be encouraging to know that almost everyone who wants to adopt and is qualified eventually succeeds. The most common paths are through an adoption agency or a private adoption attorney. Some parents find a child through family or friends, by putting out the word that they are looking to adopt. Some may put up a website or a toll-free number for friends to distribute so a pregnant woman can learn about them and call at any time.

In open adoption, there is some contact or possibility for contact with the birth parents. While this used to be rare, it is now generally viewed as being in the child's best interest. This is the more common type of adoption domestically.

In closed adoptions, there is no ongoing relationship with the birth parents. This is the usual situation in international adoption.