Choosing Adoption for Unplanned Pregnancy in Tennessee
Unplanned pregnancy? The questions hit fast and hard: What do I do now? What are my options? How do I even begin to figure this out?
If you're reading this, you're probably scared, overwhelmed, and looking for real answers about adoption in Tennessee. Here's the truth: you have way more control than anyone's probably told you, and more support than you realize.
Let's walk through what adoption actually looks like in Tennessee — your rights and legal protections, your choices and decision-making control, the support and resources you can get, and how to make informed decisions that feel right for your life and circumstances.
What Are My Adoption Options for an Unplanned Pregnancy in Tennessee?
First thing to know? You're in the driver's seat.
Tennessee gives you the power to make every major decision about this process — what's called decision-making authority in adoption law. This includes what kind of family adopts your baby, how much contact or communication you want afterward, and what kind of support and assistance you need right now.
If you're feeling overwhelmed by options for an unwanted pregnancy, remember that you have time to explore what feels right for your situation.
Working with a Licensed Adoption Agency
Here's why this matters: a licensed agency has your back legally because they can't cut corners or play games with your rights when the state watches them closely.
American Adoptions and other licensed agencies in Tennessee handle the complicated stuff — finding families, coordinating your medical care, legal paperwork, and making sure everything's done right. The families they work with are already background-checked, already approved, and ready to go when you are.
Your Adoption Plan (Yes, It's Really Yours)
Think of this as your roadmap based on what matters to you: Rural family or city family? Religious or not? Big extended family or small and tight-knit? Kids already or first-time parents?
You decide what the family looks like, where they live, how much contact you want later, what kind of birth plan you want, and what support you need during pregnancy. Nobody else makes these calls — not social workers, not judges, just you.
Picking the Family
This might surprise you, but choosing the family can take months, and that's okay.
You'll read their profiles, see their photos, and read letters they wrote to you. Some people know immediately while others go through dozens of families before finding "the one." Want to talk to them first? We set up phone calls. Want to meet in person? That happens too.
Take your time because this is your choice.
How Much Contact Later?
Three basic options in Tennessee for post-placement contact and ongoing relationships:
- Closed adoption means no contact after placement with complete privacy and confidentiality. Some people need this level of separation for their own healing and moving forward.
- Semi-open involves updates and photos through the agency — mediated communication that lets you stay connected but with some distance and boundaries.
- Open adoption includes direct contact and ongoing relationships with phone numbers, visits, continuing communication, and active involvement in your child's life as they grow.
Which one's right depends on you, your emotional needs, your life situation, and what feels sustainable.
Open adoption gets a bad reputation because most people picture something that doesn't actually exist.
What Is an Open Adoption — and Is It Right for Me?
Open placement means staying in touch and maintaining a meaningful relationship.
This isn't co-parenting — the adoptive parents are the legal parents and primary caregivers who make all the day-to-day decisions — but you might text on birthdays, receive school photos and achievement updates, or maybe even visit for holidays and special occasions.
What Open Actually Looks Like
Every open adoption relationship is genuinely different and unique. Some birth moms text with the adoptive mom weekly and develop close friendships, while others connect a few times a year around meaningful milestones. Some families become genuinely close friends who spend holidays together, while others keep things more structured and intentional.
The level of openness varies significantly between families. Some maintain regular communication and frequent contact while others prefer less frequent but meaningful communication, perhaps connecting on birthdays and major milestones, school achievements, or special occasions.
"Knowing that I can be around and be there — I don't even know how to put it into words… I'm like a cheerleader on the sideline, and that's more than I could have asked for," shares Caitlin, a birth mother who worked with American Adoptions.
The Hard Parts
Open adoption isn't all sunshine because it can be emotionally complicated. Seeing "your" child call someone else mommy is hard, and watching them live a life you could have given them but didn't is equally difficult.
You need emotional maturity, clear boundaries, and honestly, you need to be sure this won't interfere with your own healing and future relationships.
Making It Official
Tennessee courts encourage written agreements about contact. They're not legally binding like custody orders, but they help everyone stay on the same page about how often you'll communicate, what methods you'll use, how to handle disagreements, and what happens if someone wants to change the arrangement later.
What Is a Semi-Open Adoption?
The middle ground provides connection without direct contact.
How It Works
Your agency becomes the go-between where the adoptive family sends you photos and updates through them, and you can send letters or cards back the same way. It's like having a buffer that keeps you connected to your child's life while maintaining some emotional distance.
Why People Choose This
Maybe you're not ready for direct contact, maybe you want to see how you feel as time goes on, or maybe the adoptive family prefers some structure.
Jessica from Memphis chose semi-open after her placement three years ago. "I get pictures every few months and a long letter on his birthday. I know he's happy and healthy, and that's what I needed because I wasn't ready for more than that."
Room to Change
Here's the thing about semi-open: it can evolve. Starting semi-open and moving to more contact later happens all the time, and needing to pull back for a while is okay too.
Who Chooses the Adoptive Family — and How?
You do. It doesn't matter how old you are, whether you're married or single, or what your family thinks — this decision is legally yours in Tennessee.
Reading Family Profiles
Agencies keep books full of family profiles with photos, letters to birth parents, and information about their lives, their values, and their dreams for parenthood. You can read as many as you want and take as long as you need.
What to Look For
Trust your gut because it really matters.
Do they seem genuine in their letters? Do their values align with yours? Do you like how they talk about parenting, about challenges, and about you? Look beyond the surface stuff because anyone can take a good photo — what matters is whether you feel good about entrusting your child to them for a lifetime.
The Matching Process
Modern agencies use computer systems to narrow things down based on your preferences. Want a family within 200 miles? Done. Want parents who already have kids? Here are your options. Want someone who shares your faith? Here's the list. But the final choice is pure instinct.
Meeting Them
Most people want to talk before deciding, usually starting with phone calls, then video calls, and sometimes in-person meetings. Ask anything you want: How would they handle your child being interested in sports you hate? What if your child wants to find you someday? How do they picture discipline? What's their extended family like?
These conversations matter because they help you move from "this looks good on paper" to "I trust these people with my child."
Can I Choose Adoption Late in My Pregnancy or After Birth?
Yes! Adoption is an option late into your pregnancy, once you’re in labor, and even after birth. Let’s get into it.
Even If You're in Labor?
Even then, agencies work with pre-approved families who are ready for quick placements, and hospital social workers know how to handle these situations. Is it more stressful? Sure, but it's absolutely possible.
The 72-Hour Rule
Tennessee law protects you here with built-in safeguards and waiting periods. You have at least 72 hours after birth before anyone can ask you to make legal commitments or sign consent documents, and even then, you have additional time to change your mind or revoke consent if needed.
Nobody can pressure you into signing immediately after delivery because that protection exists for a reason.
Emergency Support
When things move fast, agencies mobilize with hospital advocacy, legal representation, counseling support, and medical care coordination. You won't be alone figuring this out. What if choosing adoption actually meant getting more support than you've ever had during any major life decision or major life transition?
What Support Can I Get If I Choose Adoption?
More than you probably think.
Emotional Support
Professional counseling at no cost to you starts immediately and continues as long as you need it. Support groups with other birth moms connect you with people who actually understand what you're going through.
Medical Care
Your agency coordinates with your doctors, and if you don't have insurance, they help arrange coverage for pregnancy and delivery expenses. Some agencies also offer extras like nutrition counseling, childbirth classes, and even things like massage therapy.
Living Expenses
Tennessee allows reasonable financial help during pregnancy for rent, utilities, groceries, transportation, and maternity clothes. Every situation is different, but if you need help, ask because that's what this support is for.
Legal Protection
You get your own attorney who's completely separate from the adoptive family's lawyer — someone whose only job is protecting your interests. They handle all the paperwork, explain your rights, and make sure everything's done legally.
Educational and Career Help
Pregnant in high school? Agencies can help you finish with the least amount of disruption possible.
Want to go to college? We can help with financial aid applications, job training, career counseling, and job search help because the goal is helping you build the future you want. We even have a scholarship program for birth mothers who want to complete their education.
Starting Your Adoption Plan With American Adoptions
Ready to learn more? Here's what happens next.
Your First Call
When you contact American Adoptions, you'll talk to someone who gets it — someone who's walked through this process with hundreds of women in your exact situation.
This conversation is confidential with no pressure and no commitment, just honest answers to your questions. They'll listen to your situation, explain your options, help you understand what support is available, and be straight with you about what this process actually looks like.
Creating Your Plan
If you decide to move forward, you'll work together to create a plan that fits your life, your values, and your needs.
Every decision stays yours — what kind of family you want, how much contact afterward, and what kind of support you need during pregnancy. Your plan can change as your feelings change because nothing's set in stone until you sign final papers.
24/7 Support
Questions at 2 AM? Call. Need someone to talk through your feelings? Call. Want to change something about your plan? Call.
Your adoption specialist becomes your advocate, your resource, and your support person through this entire journey. That support doesn't end when your baby is placed because counseling, support groups, and resource connections are available as long as you find them helpful.
Questions about adoption in Tennessee? Ready to talk through your options? American Adoptions is here with confidential, judgment-free support designed around your needs.
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