Ideas

I would always advise an expectant mother who is considering adoption to go to an agency, not a lawyer. Most agencies provide some form of counseling...which is extremely IMPORTANT. Lawyers usually treat expectant mothers like another business transaction, and I've met so many women throughout the years who were just left hanging out in the wind once they signed the relinquishment papers.I have been around the adoption community for many, many years now...and I can tell you that adoption is not a win-win situation for MANY of us who were unable to raise our children for whatever reason. It's not all glitter and rainbows, not for the birth/first moms and not for the adoptees. There are some very real and serious issues to take into consideration. It's also critical that potential adoptive parents prepare and educate themselves. Don't just assume that the Lifetime Movie of the Week is based on reality...because I can assure you it is not.ETA: The only circumstance that I think going through a lawyer is appropriate is in cases of kinship adoption or when the expectant mother knows the potential adoptive parents in real life. In those cases, I think it's fine, especially if there is some sort of provision included in the paperwork that allows some postadoption counseling for the birth/first mother.