Post-Adoption Rights in Maryland
Even after your pregnancy, we’re still here for you. This big experience might change how you see your life and what’s important to you. You might have questions about what rights you have now, according to the adoption laws in Maryland.
Here, we’ll help you understand your rights after putting a child up for adoption in Maryland and how to plan your next steps.
Your Adoption Method
The amount of contact you’ll have with your baby and their new family depends on the method of adoption you chose. An open adoption means you will be able to have contact with the adoptive family, and they will be able to contact you. This is a good choice if you want to stay in touch with the child throughout their life.
In an open adoption, you have the choice to establish a relationship with the adoptive family before birth through meetings and calls. The adoptive family can also participate in events like labor and delivery. After placement, communication expands through emails, photos, and calls, with visits often scheduled around holidays or the child’s first birthday. Relationships in open adoption continue to evolve over time, giving you control over aspects such as the adoptive parents’ role at birth and communication preferences. You can express your preference for open adoption to your adoption professional, shaping your adoption plan with agreed-upon communication.
In closed adoptions, communication and information sharing between you and the baby’s family are very limited. Legally, you won’t have access to the baby or their adoptive parents in this situation, until such a time in which the child grows up and seeks you out themselves. This usually involves accessing adoption records from agencies or courts, depending on how the adoption was arranged. Each jurisdiction in Maryland has its own way of organizing and storing these records. If these records are unavailable or incomplete, the original or amended birth certificate may be used.
Post-Birth Contact With Your Baby
In Maryland, post-birth contact agreements are legally enforceable in the cases of open adoptions, meaning that you would be able to have contact with your baby at the adoptive parents’ discretion.
However, it is possible that the birth parents may not comply with the agreement. In Maryland, there is not much that can be done if that is the case, and those types of situations are usually resolved in court.
Maryland law also permits post-birth contact agreements between other biological family members, including siblings and grandparents. However, the same rules apply if the adoptive parents don’t permit said contact.
Adoption Expenses For Birth Mothers
Maryland law allows for adoptive parents to pay for reasonable expenses for the birth mother throughout her pregnancy. These expenses include food, shelter, clothing in certain cases, medical care, and transportation. If both parties agree, those expenses can also be covered for up to four weeks after the birth of the baby and consent to adoption. After that period, there is no legal requirement for the adoptive parents to continue covering expenses.
Adoption Records
Adoption records are sealed in Maryland once the adoption petition is finalized, as a standard procedure. If you need to access any adoption records after the petition is finalized in Maryland, it can only be done through a court order.
Revoking Consent to Adoption
While revoking written consent to the adoption is technically possible in Maryland, and you are given 30 days after the birth to change your mind, the process is very taxing emotionally and financially on both the birth mother and the prospective parents. Typically, these matters end up resolving themselves in court.
*******
Even after the adoption is complete, your care and wellbeing are still a top priority for us at A Baby Step Adoption. You’ve just experienced a major life change, which can be daunting, but we’re here to support you at every turn. We’re committed to honoring both your wishes and those of the adoptive parents, and we provide experts to address any concerns you might have during and after the process.
If you have questions or need more information about birth mother support in Maryland, feel free to call us at 610-906-8877 or send a text to 610-376-9742. We’re always here to assist you in any way possible. You can also browse our resources for birth mothers on adoption in Maryland.