Giving a Child for Adoption

Some birth parents decide that, because of their own personal circumstances, it would be best for their child if they were adopted so that the child receives the support and care that they need.  Some parents decide while they are still pregnant that they do not wish to parent the child, and wish to give up  their child to an adoptive family. This is often known as relinquishing a child.

In other cases, birth parents may have had the child removed by a local authority because of concerns for the child’s welfare.  Sometimes this results in the birth parents deciding themselves to have the child adopted (relinquishing a child).

In other cases, the local authority will decide what is best for the child and may decide that it would be in the child's best interest to be adopted.  Where birth parents are not happy that their child is being adopted, this can sometimes be referred to as a contested adoption and the matter is dealt with through the courts.