Choosing Guatemala

posted by Cheri on Sat. Mar 11, 2006
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After a lot of research, long conversations, and much prayer and soul-searching, we have decided to adopt our baby from Guatemala. We really like the way Guatemala adoptions are are handled -- they are very much like private adoptions in the US. Here's a typical scenario: the birth mother contacts an attorney to find a family for her unborn child. Within a couple weeks before or after birth, the attorney works with an agency to match the child with adoptive parents. At birth the attorney places the child in private foster care, rather than a government orphanage, until the adoption is finalized. While the child is with the foster family, all medical care is provided by private physicians, not state run agencies.

Also, because the birth mothers are highly involved throughout the adoption process (including DNA testing to prove maternity), in many cases a detailed medical history is taken of the child's birth family. That kind of medical information can be very important to the child's lifetime health. Equally important, many birth mothers are willing to provide family histories, sometimes including family photos, which can help the child make a connection with their Guatemalan roots as they grow older.

Another strong positive is that as soon as the parents and child have been matched, the adoptive parents have nearly unrestricted access to the child. They can send care packages (blankets and small toys), receive lots of photos, call the foster family directly, receive all medical reports, and even visit their child in Guatemala as often and as long as they wish! In fact, the adoptive parents can choose to be the foster care providers for their child while waiting for the adoption to be complete (of course they have to stay in Guatemala while fostering).

Basically, everything we've learned about the Guatemalan adoption process seems to be in the best interest of the child, including, unfortunately, the one thing that makes us nervous. In most other countries offering international adoption, the child is not available for adoption until the birth parents' rights have all been fully terminated. But in Guatemala, the birth mother can reclaim her child at any time before the adoption is finalized. Meaning, there is a very small chance that we could be matched with a child, receive her photos each month, and even spend a couple weeks in Guatemala bonding with her, and then the birth mother could change her mind.  Our agency has assured us that if that happened, they would quickly match us with the next available child. But, babies are not interchangeable -- it's not like exchanging a car for a different model. Although that seldom happens, it is something we have to keep in mind.

One other factor for us in selecting Guatemala over China is our hispanic relatives. My brother Aaron is married to Alma, a Mexican national, and they have seven children. Though Aaron is a fair as I am, their kids' features reflect Alma's hispanic heritage. So, as we contemplated adopting either an asian baby or a latino baby, we decided it would be nice for our daughter to share a latino heritage, and likely physical characteristics, with seven of her eleven cousins. Of course we also really want her to feel connected to her Italian cousins on Gary's side. But the truth is, she'll likely be closest in age to the children (sometime in the future) of Gary's oldest son and his wife, Peter and Gretchen.