Overview

You may want to consider adoption as an alternative to treatment for infertility. Learning more about the tests, exams, success rates, and costs of infertility treatment may help you decide. Adoption gives people a chance to raise and nurture a child.

When deciding whether to adopt, think about:

• Why you want a child.
• Your feelings about not being genetically related to your child.
  • How will you deal with maybe not knowing much about your child's genetic background?
• Your feelings about adopting a child from a different ethnic, cultural, or religious background.
  • How do the members of your family feel about someone from a different background coming into the family?
  • How will they deal with sensitive issues that may come up?
  • Will your community and extended family be able to accept the child?
  • How will you answer the child's questions about their origins?
  • How will you answer questions other people may ask about the child's heritage?
• Domestic and/or international resources for placing a child.
  • Agencies such as the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs have information on children available for adoption.
  • Many adoption agencies and private attorneys advertise their specialty in adoption issues.
  • Search online for nonprofit or government-regulated adoption agencies.
• Your personal finances.
  • Compare the costs and success rates of elective infertility treatment with the costs and success rates of adoption.
  • Be clear about what you can afford and whether you can provide for your family's needs.
• The length of time the adoption process involves.
  • Compare the time involved in infertility treatments with the time involved in adoption processes. Can you be patient and accept the time frames?
• The personal evaluation process required of all parties in adoptions.
  • Adoptions require checks on personal background, financial status, and employment status.
  • They also require home studies by social workers and physician health statements. And in some cases, a psychological evaluation is needed.

Adoption and infertility treatments are both complex options that need careful thought. Support groups and counseling, along with the most recent information on both options, can help you make the best decision.