The term open adoption is a broad one and sometimes assume that because you are reading this blog that your open adoption may include visits and I realize that all open adoptions may not include frequent visits at this point and time. However, the next few posts will be for those of you who do have visits as I began a short series on visits.

Some of you may be wondering why visits are important and why they can be beneficial to involved. A lot of the reasons that I feel visits are important are also reasons listed as why open adoption itself is typically beneficial.


Visits are important and beneficial because it gives all involved the opportunity to continue bonding and building an ongoing relationship. Many open adoption situations nowadays are more like extended family relationships and visiting gives you the opportunity to spend time together and interact with one another. Visits also give birthmother and child roles in each others lives.

Visits are beneficial (in most cases) for the adopted child because it gives him or her a chance to know his/her biological history. If the child has questions, the birthmother is there to answer them. It can lessen the feelings of abandonment.

The child also gets to build an ongoing relationship with the birthmother, not build one late in life as with closed adoptions. Visits also delete the “mystery factor.” A child doesn’t have to wonder about his/her birthmother’s love for him because she is right there showing it.

Visits can be beneficial for the birthmother involved because she is able to see that her child is happy and healthy and sometimes that may provide her with peace of mind. For me personally, this is probably one of the biggest benefits of a visit.

Visits are also important for birth siblings. It would be much harder for me to explain adoption and his brother to the son I am parenting if we did not have visits. It would also be denying Noah the opportunity to know his birth brother.



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Related Posts:
Benefits of Open Adoption Part 1 and Part 2