Deciding the child

"Adoption is when a child grew in its mommy's heart instead of her tummy."

The process of deciding which child to adopt is termed as "choosing". This does not mean that the couple chooses one child & rejects the other. An adoptive parent should always think that even the biological child is not exactly of anybody's expectation. The choosing process may turn out to be emotionally traumatic for a child. An adoptive parent may select a child who is fairly normal, healthy, with remedial & treatable medical problems.

Looking at the Indian Socio-cultural context, the adoptive agencies try to provide as much support as they can for the sake of the adopted child's acceptance & integration into the family.

During the Home Study process, an adoptive parent may discuss with the social worker a profile of the child that they have in mind. The social worker tries her best to locate a baby that matches the expectations.

Adoptive parents should always keep in mind that children in adoption centers may not be the bouncing, bonny babies. They may have born underweight as a result of poor pre-natal care, malnutrition & undernourishment of the biological mother. With proper care & love, the child soon blossoms into good health.

Agencies normally do a complete medical screening of the baby before refering to the parents. The adoptive parents are recommended to visit their own pediatrician to reassure themselves that the baby has no congenital or medical problems.

source: http://www.indiadoption.com/