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Maybe a Baby?

Navigating the Infant Adoption Maze

By Kelly Burgess

Hutzel knows it could have been worse. Two weeks in Florida is a breeze compared to a month in Moscow or two trips to Bulgaria. And then she would not have gotten a newborn because the process of international adoption virtually rules out any chance of getting an infant.

The one constant in adoption is the wait. Whether adopting domestically or internationally, there will always be a waiting period. Adding time to the waiting period is the flexibility, or lack thereof, of the adoptive parent(s). If the adoptive family is set on a white infant, the wait can be quite long and the selection process based on the whim of the birthmother, rather than a more merit-based selection. On the other hand, if the parents are open to a bi-racial child or a special needs child, the wait can be shortened considerably.

Gloria Hochman, director of communications for the National Adoption Center in Philadelphia, Pa., says that this stems from a disparity between the number of infants available for adoption and the number of families who want to adopt. This gap has widened over the past few decades.

"It's become more difficult to adopt an infant in this country for several reasons," Hochman says. "The availability of birth control, abortion and a lack of stigma attached to single motherhood has resulted in fewer infans being adopted. This has resulted in a lot of changes in the adoption field."

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