The Complete Guide to Giving Up a Baby for Adoption in Indiana

By: Grant Kirsh

If you are pregnant and thinking about giving up your baby for adoption in Indiana, this guide is for you. It covers everything you need to know, from your legal rights to financial help to choosing a family to what happens at the hospital and after placement. It is written by someone who has been doing this work in Indiana for a very long time.

My name is Grant Kirsh. I am a second-generation adoption attorney and the owner of Kirsh & Kirsh, P.C., a family law firm in Indianapolis, Indiana that has been serving Indiana families since 1981. My law firm has handled over 5,000 private newborn adoptions. We are a family-run firm. We are not a national adoption agency without a real local presence. We live here, we work here, and we know this state inside and out.

This guide is long on purpose. It is meant to be the most complete, honest, and Indiana-specific resource available to any expectant mother in this state. Whether you are in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Evansville, South Bend, Carmel, Fishers, Bloomington, Hammond, Gary, Muncie, Lafayette, Terre Haute, Kokomo, Anderson, Greenwood, or any other community in Indiana, this guide was written for you.

What Does It Mean to Place Your Baby for Adoption?

Many people search for “how to give up a baby for adoption” or “how to put up a baby for adoption.” Those are common search terms, and there is nothing wrong with using them because that is the language most people use when searching for adoption agencies or adoption attorneys. But we want you to know that choosing adoption is not giving up. It is one of the most loving and courageous decisions a mother can make.

When you place your baby for adoption, you are choosing a safe, stable, loving home for your child when your own circumstances make that hard to provide right now. That takes strength. It takes selflessness. And it takes real courage.

Your Legal Rights as a Birth Mother in Indiana

Indiana law provides important protections for birth mothers. Understanding these rights before you make any decisions is one of the most important things you can do.

When can you sign the consent to adoption?

Pursuant to Indiana Code § 31-19-9-2(b), a mother cannot sign the consent to adoption until after your baby is born. There is no specific waiting period required by law. However, the Indiana Hospital Association, whose policy Kirsh & Kirsh, P.C. helped draft and update as recently as 2025, recommends that hospitals prefer you wait no sooner than 24 hours after a normal delivery, or 48 hours after a c-section, before signing. It is also important to note that pursuant to Indiana Code § 31-19-9-2(c), a father can sign a pre-birth consent to adoption, if he is involved.

You sign when you are ready. Not before

What happens after you sign?

Once you sign the consent to adoption in Indiana, it is legally effective and legally binding. Pursuant to Indiana Code § 31-19-10-3(a), there is a 15-day window during which you may attempt to withdraw your consent, but this is very difficult to do and is not a true revocation period. Once signed, consent is effectively final. Pursuant to Indiana Code § 31-19-10-3(b), a parent can waive the 15-day window they have to attempt to withdraw their consent to adoption if they confirm their consent to adoption before the judge by confirming they: (1) understand the consequences of signing a consent to adoption, (2) signed the consent freely and voluntarily, and (3) believe the adoption is in the child’s best interest.

This is exactly why everything that comes before that moment matters so much. We make sure every birth mother we work with is fully informed, fully supported, and genuinely at peace before she signs anything.

Can you change your mind before signing?

Yes. Until you sign the consent, you can change your mind about anything, the family you chose, the adoption plan, or adoption altogether. Nothing you do before that signature is legally binding. You can reach out to us, learn about adoption, review family profiles, choose a family, accept financial assistance during your pregnancy, and still decide that parenting is the right choice. None of those steps lock you in.

Do you have the right to your own attorney?

Indiana law does not require that birth mothers have independent legal counsel. But at Kirsh & Kirsh, P.C., we were the first adoption professionals in Indiana to offer this. If you want your own independent attorney, someone who represents you and only you, the adoptive family is required to pay for it. It is optional for you but mandatory for the adoptive family to cover the cost if you want one. You never pay a dime.

Will you have to go to court?

In Indiana, birth mothers almost certainly will never have to step foot in a courtroom. The finalization hearing happens several months after placement and does not require your attendance. If you confirm your consent to adoption pursuant to Indiana Code § 31-19-10-3(b), that can be done over the phone with the judge.

Financial Help Available to Birth Mothers

Money is one of the biggest worries for expectant mothers considering adoption. Indiana law allows adoptive families to help with your expenses during pregnancy.

Under Indiana Code § 35-46-1-9, adoptive families may pay up to $4,000 in living expenses on your behalf. This can cover housing, food, maternity clothing, and other reasonable living costs.

Importantly, medical expenses and adoption-related transportation are NOT included in the $4,000 cap. That means prenatal care, labor and delivery costs, postnatal care, and transportation to medical appointments or adoption-related meetings can be covered separately.

Counseling costs should be covered 100% by the adoptive family. Emotional support and therapy before and after placement is a core part of good adoption care, and you should never have to pay for it yourself.

This financial help is not a payment for your baby. It is support for you during your pregnancy. And accepting it does not obligate you to go through with the adoption. You can change your mind at any point before you sign the consent.

Choosing the Adoptive Family

In a private adoption in Indiana, you choose the family that raises your child. This is one of the most meaningful parts of the process.

At Kirsh & Kirsh, P.C., we typically have over 100 families waiting to adopt. That means you have real choices, real profiles to review, and a genuine opportunity to find the family that feels right to you. Adoptive families can come from anywhere in the country, not just Indiana.

You review family profiles. You can ask questions about them, set up phone or video calls with them. There is no pressure to decide quickly. You want to keep in mind though that profiles of families get shown often to many expectant mothers considering adoption. There is a chance if you take too long someone else might pick a family before you.

All of our adoptive families commit to providing letters and photos for at least 18 years. Some offer much more, including visits, video calls, and regular updates. The level of openness is shaped by what you and the family agree to together.

Open, Semi-Open, and Closed Adoption

Many adoptions in Indiana today are open, meaning there is ongoing contact between you and the adoptive family after placement. We encourage open adoption because we have seen how much it benefits everyone, especially the child.

Semi-open adoption, where contact goes through a third party like our office, is not common but is available if that is what you want.

Closed adoption, where there is no contact after placement, is still an option. But at Kirsh & Kirsh, P.C., it is the birth mother’s choice whether to have a closed adoption, not the adoptive family’s. No adoptive family we work with can veto your wish for ongoing contact.

One important legal note: Indiana Code § 31-19-16-2 allows for written post-adoption contact agreements, but only for children who are 12 months or older when adopted. For newborn adoptions, these agreements reflect the good faith of both parties rather than legal enforcement. That is why choosing the right family, one you trust, matters so much.

What Happens at the Hospital

The hospital stay is the part many women think about the most. Here is what you need to know.

Until you sign the consent to adoption, you are your baby’s parent. Every decision at the hospital is yours. Who is in the room. Whether the adoptive family is there, in the waiting room, the delivery room, or even your own room. How much time you spend with your baby. Whether you hold or feed your baby. Whether you give your baby a name. All of it is up to you.

At Kirsh & Kirsh, P.C., we know the hospitals, social workers, and doctors across Indiana, not just the courts. In fact, we have even handled the adoptions for these social workers and doctors. We can help prepare you for what to expect at your specific hospital and make sure the staff understands your wishes before you arrive.

What About the Birth Father?

Indiana law gives biological fathers certain rights, but those rights depend on specific legal steps.

A DNA test, even one showing 99% or higher probability, does not legally establish paternity in Indiana. Paternity is legally established only by a court proceeding or a signed paternity affidavit.

Indiana has a putative father registry. A man who believes he may be the father can register within 30 days of the child’s birth. If he does not register in time, his ability to contest the adoption becomes impossible. In order to receive notice of the adoption, an unwed father, must register with the Indiana Putative Father Registry.

If an alleged or legal father is served with notice of an adoption proceeding, he has 15-days to file a motion to contest. If he does not act within that window, his consent to the adoption is irrevocably implied.

Every father situation is different. This is one of the most important reasons to work with an experienced Indiana adoption attorney rather than a well-intentioned social worker at an adoption agency or a national adoption agency that may not understand Indiana law.

What If You Are Married?

If you are married, Indiana law presumes your husband is the legal father of your child regardless of biology. His parental rights must be addressed before the adoption can proceed. Depending on your situation, he may consent to the adoption, his rights may be terminated through court, or paternity may be legally established for the biological father. If you are married, but he is not the biological father of the child then his consent to the adoption may not be required. Pursuant to Indiana Code § 31-19-9-1(a)(7), he would need to prove it is in the best interest of the child to determine that his consent to the adoption is required.

Adoption Attorney vs. Adoption Agency

In Indiana, adoption is a legal process. An attorney is involved in every adoption, whether you start with an agency or not. When you work directly with Kirsh & Kirsh, P.C., you skip the agency middleman entirely.

Some national adoption agencies try to operate in Indiana and do certain things to appear local. Their staff, their leadership, and their decision-making are based somewhere else entirely. They do not know Indiana hospitals, social workers, courts, or communities.

Kirsh & Kirsh, P.C. has been part of Indiana communities since 1981. We know the hospitals, social workers, and doctors across this state. When you call us, you reach people who are actually here.

Our services are 100% free to you. You will never pay us anything.

Life After Placement

Most birth mothers describe a mix of emotions after placement, grief, relief, love, doubt, peace. Sometimes all at once. Grief and love are not opposites. They can exist together.

The birth mothers who find the most peace over time are the ones who felt informed, supported, not pressured, and who chose a family they trusted. Open adoption, where you can see your child growing up loved and safe, makes an enormous difference over time.

Counseling after placement is available and should be covered by the adoptive family. We can help connect you with resources wherever you are in Indiana.

Why Kirsh & Kirsh, P.C.?

We are the hometown adoption experts in Indiana. Here is what sets us apart:

• We are a family-run firm that has been in Indiana since 1981, nearly 50 years.
• We know the hospitals, social workers, and doctors across Indiana, not just the courts and judges.
• We typically have over 100 very carefully screened families waiting to adopt, giving you real choices.
• Our services are 100% free to birth mothers. You will never pay anything.
• We were the first in Indiana to offer birth mothers their own independent attorney, paid for by the adoptive family.
• All of our families commit to letters and photos for at least 18 years.
• At our firm, closed adoption is the birth mother’s choice, not the adoptive family’s.
• You will almost certainly never have to step foot in a courtroom.
• Adoptive families can come from anywhere in the country.
• We are not a national company pretending to be local. We are right here in Indiana.

Whether you are in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Evansville, South Bend, Carmel, Fishers, Bloomington, Hammond, Gary, Muncie, Lafayette, Terre Haute, Kokomo, Anderson, or Greenwood, we are here for you.

Call or text us at 800-333-5736. Visit us at IndianaAdoption.com. Everything is free and confidential.

About the Author
Grant Kirsh is a second-generation adoption attorney and owner of Kirsh & Kirsh, P.C., a family law firm in Indianapolis, Indiana that has been serving Indiana families since 1981. Grant graduated from Indiana University McKinney School of Law in 2013 and has personally handled nearly 3,000 foster care adoptions and his law firm has handled over 5,000 private newborn adoptions. He practices all forms of domestic adoption, with a deep personal commitment to expectant mothers considering adoption in Indiana and Indiana’s foster care system and the families and children it serves.