Can I Place My Baby for Adoption After Bringing Them Home From the Hospital?

By: Grant Kirsh

We are receiving more and more phone calls at Kirsh & Kirsh, P.C. from women who brought their baby home from the hospital, tried to parent, and have now realized they cannot do it. They are calling us weeks or months after birth, sometimes when the child is close to a year old, asking how to place the child for adoption.

This is becoming an epidemic. And it is breaking our hearts because, in most cases, the window that existed at birth has closed or narrowed dramatically.

At Kirsh & Kirsh, P.C., we have been practicing adoption law in Indiana for nearly 50 years. We are a family-run law firm, not a national adoption agency, and we have handled over 5,000 private newborn adoptions. We are seeing this trend more and more, and we feel a responsibility to talk about it honestly.

Why This Is Happening

Here is the pattern we are seeing. A woman gives birth. She is not sure about adoption, or she is talked out of it by family or friends. She takes the baby home. And then, weeks or months later, the reality of parenting sets in. All of her friends and family that said they would help have abandoned her. She cannot afford caring for the baby. She does not have the support she needs. The father is not involved. She is overwhelmed, exhausted, or in a situation that is not safe for a child.

By the time she calls us, she wants the same thing she could have had at the hospital, a loving adoptive family for her child. But the legal landscape has changed.

Why Placing an Older Child Is Different

When a baby is placed for adoption at birth or shortly after, the process is straightforward under Indiana law. You sign the consent. The baby goes home with the adoptive family. The adoption is finalized.

When a child is older, weeks, months, or a year old, the legal situation becomes much more complicated. The child now has an established relationship with the birth mother and possibly the birth father. If the father has been involved at all, or has taken any legal steps to establish paternity, his rights are much harder to address. Courts look at established relationships differently than they look at newborn placements. If the father has established paternity then his consent to the adoption is required. While he might not be around, or you have not heard from him in a while, if paternity is established, and he is not willing to consent to the adoption, then you are not able to place the baby for adoption. This is usually the single largest hurdle to overcome when placing

The Decision at Birth Matters

We do not say this to be harsh. We say it because we want every expectant mother reading this to understand: the moment at birth, when the legal process is most clear and most protective of everyone involved, is the moment to make this decision if adoption is on your mind.

That does not mean you have to rush. You can take time. You can hold your baby. The Indiana Hospital Association policy recommends waiting no sooner than 24 hours after a normal delivery, or 48 hours after a c-section, before signing consent. But making an honest, well-supported decision during that window is far better than trying to unwind a parenting decision months later.

What If You Have Already Brought Your Baby Home?

If you are in this situation right now, please call us. We are not going to judge you. We understand how this happens, and we want to help you understand what your options are.

Every situation is different. The child’s age, whether the father is involved, whether paternity has been established, and the specific circumstances of your case all matter. An experienced Indiana adoption attorney can walk through your situation with you and give you honest guidance about what is and is not possible.

How We Can Help Before It Gets to This Point

If you are pregnant right now and considering adoption, please reach out before your baby is born. Not after. A phone call costs you nothing. Our services are 100% free to birth mothers. We will never pressure you. We will give you honest information and support so that whatever decision you make, you make it at the right time, with the right information, and with someone truly in your corner.

We typically have over 100 families waiting to adopt. You will have real choices. And if you decide to parent, we will respect that completely.

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.

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

For a complete overview of the adoption process in Indiana, read our Complete Guide to Giving Up a Baby for Adoption in Indiana.

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.