More Points For a Birth Mother to Consider in Choosing an Adoption Agency:

2. Choose an agency that indicates that many of the pregnant women who come to their agency change their minds and end up parenting if possible. Some agencies boast that few if any of the pregnant women who walk into their doors change their minds. Be suspicious if an agency makes this or similar claims.

3. If you decide on an open adoption, it might be particularly helpful if the agency you use is able to mediate any problems that arise after the adoption. . Even better is an agency that can refer to an impartial mediator who can help settle any disputes that might arise.

4. Look for an agency that does not generally match parents until a baby is already available for adoption. This one factor can save all the parties to an adoption a great deal of potential heartache. Pre-birth matching is fraught with the possibility of either party backing out, and leaving the other heartbroken and distraught.

5. Choose a agency that understands that pregnant women considering adoption often change their mind. A good, ethical agency will not only tell a pregnant woman that she can change her mind, they will not exert any pressure on her if she does.

6. If you have contact with an agency and believe that they are exerting any pressure on you find another agency. Repeated phone calls that are not welcome is a bad indication. If an agency keeps telling you that you need to make a decision on adoptive parents, or that you are being too picky, you may need to rethink that agency.

7. Check out their website if they have one. Their website may provide many clues as to how they operate. For instance, notice how whether or not they refer to pregnant women as birth mothers. A woman becomes a birth mother only when she signs final adoption paper, until she does, she is a mother.

8. Make certain that the agency you choose understands that you control your child's birth, who visits the baby in the hospital, and who is in the delivery room. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise or pressure you in any way.

9. Ask the agency how long you legally have in your state to change your mind. Then check it out with an attorney or legal aid service and determine if the information that they gave you was accurate.