You have decided that you want to adopt, and you know that you want to pursue an international adoption. The next step is to select a country. It was hard enough for me to choose a local adoption agency for a private domestic adoption: I would imagine that selecting a country for an international adoption could be overwhelming. How do you possibly decide from which country to adopt when you have just about the entire world from which to choose?

My husband and I briefly considered adopting from Romania. I am grateful that we did not go this route because Romania closed its program around the time that we would have been waiting for a match. It would have been very stressful to start over in the middle of the process, not to mention that I would not be my kid’s mother today.

When I thought about Romania, I was drawn to how much little girls from Romania looked like me. (I have dark hair and a similar skin tone.) Also, our agency said that we would not have to travel to pick up the child. I now believe that traveling to bring your child home is better for the child, but I saw this as a benefit at that time.

I have thought a lot about how I would make the decision today if I were to decide to adopt from another country. I also interviewed several adoptive mothers to find out how they made the decision to adopt from the countries they chose. Then, I came up with the following process for making this decision:

1. Research parameters and eliminate countries.


2. Consider travel requirements.


3. Compare and contrast cost and time commitments.


4. Compare and contrast the adoption processes.


5. Research the history and political climate of each country.


6. Evaluate your feelings toward each country’s heritage.


7. Consider the child’s life before adoption.


8. Evaluate the possible health and emotional risks for each country.


9. Examine ethical considerations.


10. Decide which country is the best fit for your family.

Over the next ten posts, I will discuss each step in this process. I welcome comments from anyone who has adopted internationally or is currently in the process. Also, I strongly recommend that you read the blogs for the countries you are considering. I adopted domestically, so I cannot speak to these issues firsthand, but our international bloggers have been through the process of selecting a country and can be an invaluable resource as you make this decision.

Related Topics:

• How to choose an adoption program



• How to decide to adopt internationally



• How to evaluate adoption options



• How to Evaluate the Different Types of Adoption



• Choose a Country



• International Adoption blog