What happens afterwards?

After your baby is born, your counselor will meet with you to sign the legal documents which make the adoption legal and permanent. By Illinois law, you must wait at least 72 hours after the baby is born to sign these legal documents. You may, however, take as much time as you need to make your decision.

Once you sign the legal document that terminates your parental rights, your decision is final. The Cradle's goal is to help you reach a decision that you are comfortable with before you take that step.

You can choose to have the baby go directly from the hospital into the home of your chosen adoptive family. If you need more time to make your decision, you may use The Cradle's Nursery as a place for your baby to stay if you have not reached a final decision. Our professional staff will care for your baby and you can visit as often as you like. You can change your mind and decide to parent your child at any time up until you have signed the legal papers.

You can continue to meet with your counselor after placement—our door is always open to you for as long as you need us.

If you have chosen open adoption, you may keep in touch with your child according to the plan you worked out with the adoptive family.

If you have opted for a closed adoption, it may still be possible to learn basic information about your child by way of a Birthparent Report. The Cradle can provide basic Non-Identifying Information about your birth child's adoptive family at the time of the adoption. This report includes information about the birth of the baby and his or her early development. We will also let you know if we have had any subsequent contact from your birth son or daughter or from the adoptive family since the time of the adoption.

Many people choose to sign The Cradle's Mutual Consent Registry. The registry allows people to let us know that they are open to having contact with a birth relative. Adopted people may register at age 21 or at 18 with parental permission. Adoptive parents of a child under 18 may register on behalf of their child. Birthparents may register at any time following the adoption. Under certain conditions, birth siblings and descendants of adopted people may also register. Once the forms are submitted for The Cradle's registry, they remain on record here. If there is a match, The Cradle will contact each person and facilitate an exchange of letters, information, telephone calls, or a meeting.

If you feel you need more emotional support after the adoption has become final, you are invited to participate in The Cradle's Post Adoption Support Group, a monthly meeting facilitated by a licensed clinical social worker.