What you are facing is not easy, but help is available.
In unplanned pregnancies, birth parents and often their immediate families need aid in making careful decisions.
There are programs designed to assist you in making these important decisions. They not only provide pregnancy counseling, but can also assist you in finding the medical care you and your baby need. There are also programs that offer financial help, emotional support, and material assistance such as housing, maternity clothes, and cribs. For a list of Crisis Pregnancy Centers in Rhode Island where you can receive confidential counseling, free pregnancy tests, and referral to other life-affirming agencies, please visit our “Pregnancy Assistance” page.
The Adoption Option
If you are currently facing a difficult decision, an important option you may wish to consider is adoption. As you think about adoption, there are many things to consider. You need to seek out all the facts in making choices for you and your baby’s future. If you choose adoption for your baby, there are a number of adoption plans open to you:
Confidential adoption: You may protect your identity by choosing a confidential adoption.
Open adoptions: You may choose varying degrees of openness, such as:
- Picking the adoptive parents from a list of profiles
- Exchanging letters through the adoption agency/facilitator
- Having a confidential meeting with the adoptive parents
- Exchanging names and keeping in contact with the adoptive family after the adoption.
It all depends upon you and the adoption facilitator you may choose. Ask what options are open to you and what kind of assistance they are able to provide.
Links to Adoption Agencies in Rhode Island
Bethany Christian Services: www.bethany.org Tel. 1-800-BETHANY (800-238-4269)
Adoption by Choice: (Southeastern Massachusetts and all of Rhode Island) Catholic Social Services of Fall River Tel. 401-624-9270 Nancy Harper and/or Elaine Abdow