Why Expectant Parents Call

My name is Arletta Diggs Barbel, and I am a birth parent counselor here at the Cradle. I’ve been here for about six years. Our average client is in their third trimester, some call before and start to learn about adoption, but certainly it could be any time during the pregnancy, and even after delivery.

A lot of clients come to us, number one, for financial reasons, because they’re not financially secure at the time, and, number two, some people who decide they want to move forward with their educational goals or their career goals, and some people have just decided, you know, ‘I just never wanted to be a parent,’ and knowing that there are placing their child with someone who is excited about the thought of parenting makes them feel good.

Options counseling means that we’re pretty much just providing them with information about adoption, as well as information about parenting options if that’s a possibility. You know, just really providing them with what information is going to be helpful for them to decide what’s in their best interest as well as the best interest of their child.

A majority of the clients that I work with decide to have some involvement in terms of either choosing the family or choosing the type of values that family will have. We already have all of the families screened, and they don’t have to worry about that family being ‘scary,’ I guess, because that’s one of the big fears that I hear from clients. So, we really work with people where they’re at. If the birth father isn’t involved, pretty much finding out either how we can locate him or how we can make a secure adoption plan so that his rights are also acknowledged.

Most people come to us knowing that they’re doing what they think is in the best interest to their child. They’re making an unselfish choice for their child. You know, just helping them understand that this is your decision, you know, and nobody can walk on your shoes. Only you know what is in the best interest for yourself and for your child. Any advice I have is to just, really, know what your rights are as a birth parent, so that no matter what resource you go through, um, you will be making the plan that you think is in the best interest of your child and yourself.