How can I contact a counselor?
You can email us pregnant@awaa.org, call our main office at 800-429-3369, or call or text us anytime on our 24 hour help line in Virginia or Maryland at 703-346-4921.
I want to come for counseling but I have no transportation to get to your office. Can you still help me?
Yes, a counselor can meet you at your home, restaurant, or another location close to you where you can talk privately. We can also help you with transportation if you would rather come to our offices. We serve the states of Virginia and Maryland and can meet with you near your home.
Does it cost me anything to talk with a counselor or to make an adoption plan?
No, there is no charge to you for counseling or other services.
Will I know anything about the adoptive parents?
Yes. You can choose the adoptive parents for your child by looking at family profiles, and even meet them if you want. You can also decide how much contact you would like to have with the adoptive parents after the adoption. For example, you can receive letters and pictures as your child grows or have phone contact or visits. That is worked out between you and the adoptive parents. Your America World counselor can help you with those decisions.
Do I have to choose the adoptive parents or meet them?
No. Your America World counselor can talk with you about what qualities you would like in the adoptive family and can select the parents for you. You do not have to meet the family, but you can change your mind about that later.
People ask me how I can carry a child for nine months and then go through with adoption. They make me feel like I am a bad mother for considering adoption.
As you know, there is so much more to being a parent than giving birth to a child. A good mother wants to take care of her child in the best way that she can. For some women, that may be adoption. Adoption does not mean that you are no longer your child’s mother. You will always be your child’s mother but in a different way. You will be your child’s birthmother. "Do not merely look out for your own interests, but also the interests of others." Philippians 2:4
I am worried that it will be too hard for me to say good bye to my baby at the hospital. Will I feel too sad to go through with my plan of adoption?
It is normal to feel sad after the baby is born. Feeling sad does not mean that you have made the wrong decision. Important decisions are often hard decisions. When you look at what is best for your child first then look at what is best for you, it can help you feel less confused. Adoption means that you have put what is best for your child before your own feelings. That is what it means to be a loving mother.
Will my sad feelings about my decision ever go away?
You will never forget your child. You will always be your child’s birthmother and carry your child in your heart. As time passes, the sad feelings will lessen and eventually go away for most of the time. There may be things in life that bring the feelings back and it will help to talk those feelings through. Counseling with the understanding staff at America World can help you through those difficult times.
Will I regret it in the future if I choose adoption for my child?
Choosing adoption
is a big decision. A counselor can help you think through your life now and what your goals are for your future to help you make the decision. Adoption can be a good choice if you are not ready to be a parent or you have other children and don’t feel you can give all of your children what they need. Adoption can offer you and your child a future in which you can both meet your goals in life. You have the choice to ask for updates from the adoptive family as your child grows so that you can be reassured that he or she is doing well.
My family and friends are pressuring me to parent my child.
Your family and friends are important in your life. You are your child’s parent and it is your responsibility to provide for your child or make sure that your child is provided for the best way that you can. Only you can decide what is best for yourself and your child. If family and friends are offering to provide help to you, it is important to ask yourself if they can be counted on to be there to help you in the long run. Sometimes people mean well in their offer to help but have their own life struggles that keep them from being able to help you as they promised.
Is it ever too late to decide on adoption?
No, it is never too late. Some women feel comforted in careful planning throughout their pregnancies, but others may put off facing a difficult decision. We can meet with you to help you in your decision whether you are one month into your pregnancy, currently in the hospital following the birth of your child, had your baby six months ago and feel overwhelmed, or any time you feel you want to talk about an adoption plan for your child.
What about the father of my baby? I feel that I want to consider adoption but the father of my baby says no. What can I do?
Our counselor can help you talk with the father of your baby about plans for the baby’s future. He may not be ready to be a father or be able to provide for his child, but it is hard for him to talk about it. There is a lot of information out there about adoption that isn’t true or accurate. It may help for him to have a chance to have his questions answered.
