Birth Moms: The Value of Expectant Parent Counseling
Utah law provides that birth mothers are entitled to some counseling. Whether you are working with Forever Bound Adoption, another adoption agency, or a private adoption attorney, free counseling (at least three sessions) should be made available to you. Meeting with an experienced counselor can benefit you as a birth mother throughout the adoption process. Placing your baby for adoption is a significant and highly emotional choice for you to make. This a huge decision.
Benefits of Counseling
Having someone to talk to is so important. Understanding how you are feeling and what you are thinking will help you gain confidence in your decision. Just having a few sessions with an experienced adoption counselor is helpful. Whether your adoption plan for the baby is open or closed, adoption has an emotional impact on every birth mom in some way. Finding someone to talk to both before and after an adoption can be very important. A counselor can help by:
– Adding to your support team
– Providing someone to talk to
– Giving emotional support
– Helping you gain perspective
– Helping you process your feelings
– Educating on coping methods for emotional challenges
The Role of Forever Bound Adoption
Forever Bound Adoption provides options counseling. An experienced professional can prepare you to make a decision by educating you on all your pregnancy options including answering all your questions surrounding adoption. If you choose adoption, you may find you need help after placement to process your experience.
The amount of counseling needed is entirely up to the individual and their counselor. Generally, counseling is provided by the agency for 6 months after placement. A counseling fund has been established to assist birth moms who desire counseling after this 6-month time period.
For more information, refer to the Fred M. Riley Foundation counseling grant information found at https://saferdownstream.org/counseling-grant/ or contact us. Forever Bound professionals can talk to you about options for counseling and provide referrals for trained professionals to help you.
Call Forever Bound Adoption at 801-821-1354 with questions and for referrals and support.
You can also receive additional emotional and educational support from Life After Placement (https://www.lifeafterplacement.org/), an organization specifically dedicated to helping birth mothers after adoptive placements.
You may also call 211 to ask about mental health resources available near you.