How to adopt a child from a maternity hospital? More and more orphaned or abandoned children in our country are finding a new family. Children are taken into care, into foster families, and adopted. The greatest demand, especially among childless families, is for babies who have just been born. Parents wait for years to adopt a newborn, as the waiting list is huge and does not come quickly. But not everyone knows how to adopt a child from a maternity hospital, what are the requirements for documents and adoptive parents.
Is it possible to adopt a newborn baby from a maternity hospital?
If a woman does not want to pick up her child after giving birth, she can leave him in the maternity hospital. All the days before discharge, crisis center specialists will offer her options for solving her problems so that she can pick up the child. But some women still issue a refusal.
Opt-out options:
- After giving birth, the woman filed an application for abandonment of the child.
- The woman was discharged before the baby. If within 3 days after the child is ready for discharge, the mother does not come for him, then an act of abandonment in the medical organization is drawn up.
- The woman gave birth without a passport and left the maternity hospital without the child.
If the child’s mother has issued a refusal, then specialists should offer the opportunity to pick up the child to the father. This is possible if the woman was married and presented her passport at the maternity hospital.
If the child's mother died during childbirth, the guardianship department will look for the child's relatives. The child will be put up for adoption if all relatives write a refusal.
It is possible to adopt a newborn child from a maternity hospital if the mother or both parents abandoned him. This is a situation that gives the child the status of “left without parental care.” This means that the guardianship department must find him a new family.
Requirements for adoptive parents
Only people with positive characteristics, a stable salary and a living space suitable for raising a child can participate in adoption.
A special commission in the guardianship and trusteeship authorities will review the package of documents and make a conclusion, which will be sent to you in writing. Both future adoptive parents must have proof of their income, and the joint income must exceed the subsistence level.
In addition, both parents must not have previous convictions. You must also submit a certificate of no criminal record to the guardianship and trusteeship authorities.
You and your partner must give your free consent to the adoption. This consent is formalized by a notarial permit.
Certificate of health of the adoptive parents
You must also have a certificate confirming that you and your husband do not have diseases that are contraindications for adoption. To do this, you need to visit tuberculosis, dermatovenerological, oncological, drug addiction, psychoneurological dispensaries and the AIDS center. Certificates are issued on special forms issued by the guardianship and trusteeship authorities. This certificate is characterized by the conclusion of the medical commission, the signatures of all members of this commission, personal seals and the official seal of the medical institution itself. You should also obtain a resolution from a general practitioner and a neurologist.
The extract from the house register must include all persons registered in your living space. It is also necessary to register from the personal account of the apartment.
A conclusion on the possibility of adoption will be issued a month after reviewing all the necessary documents and submitted examinations.
There, in the guardianship and trusteeship authorities, there is all the information about refuseniks, whose biological mothers have renounced their parental rights to them. You can ask to see this list.
When it is your turn, you will be called to the guardianship and trusteeship authorities and informed about the place and time of the meeting with the child.
Court decision on adoption
You must submit an application for adoption to the court together with the guardianship authorities. Having determined the date of the hearing and checking all the data you have provided, a court hearing is held. At this meeting, a decision on adoption is made. If the decision is positive, then the baby is given a new birth certificate and his details are entered into the parents’ passports. If the decision is negative, then you can appeal it to a higher authority. As a rule, adoption meetings end favorably for future adoptive parents.
The adoption of children who are citizens of the Russian Federation is discussed above. Not only Russians, but also foreigners have the right to adopt such children in accordance with the procedures adopted by law.
Children who are citizens of another state are also subject to adoption. But this requires the consent of their legal representative and the government agency of that state that has the necessary competencies.
Algorithm of actions: how to adopt a newborn child from the maternity hospital
Adoption is a procedure that is regulated by Ch. 19 RF IC and ch. 29 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, and a number of requirements are presented to the adoptive parent.
To accept a child into a family, you must follow the following algorithm:
- Get a conclusion.
- Pick up a child.
- Apply for adoption through the court.
From the moment the court decision enters into legal force, the adoptive parent and the adopted child legally become one family. They receive mutual rights and responsibilities similar to those of the biological family.
How to adopt a child from an orphanage? Step-by-step instruction
How to adopt your own child from your common-law wife? Step by step order
How does the process of adopting a refusenik from a maternity hospital go?
Adoption of a wife's child from her first marriage
Adopting a child under one year old is the desire of most adoptive parents. Although refusals often occur, the waiting list for children is long, so after making an informed decision you will need to prepare a package of papers and also pass a commission.
To figure out how to adopt a child from a maternity hospital, you need to pay attention to all stages of the procedure. The first condition is that the biological mother must officially refuse. There are often cases when a woman changes her decision after some time. Therefore, the registration procedure involves registration and transfer to a baby home after stabilization of the baby’s condition in the children’s department.
Baby house
Future parents should be mentally prepared for numerous checks by the guardianship authorities. The bureaucratic component will also require a lot of time. The step-by-step actions are as follows:
- Write an application to the guardianship and trusteeship authorities. In addition to information about the adoptive parents, wishes about the child are indicated: hair color, eye color, race.
- Get a referral for a medical examination of both spouses at the hospital.
- Get a list of documents that will be required to register for the queue.
- If the application is approved, you should wait in line.
A special commission will visit the housing of potential adoptive parents. This will ensure that it is in proper condition, as well as the child’s ability to live. The application review process takes about two weeks. When the turn comes, the adoption continues in court.
Important! Although there are a lot of abandoned children in maternity hospitals, in order to increase the chances and speed up the process, the minimum requirements for the external characteristics of the baby should be specified. If adoptive parents do not mind taking a child with a congenital pathology, then, as a rule, there is no need to stand in line.
Required documents
To adopt a child from a maternity hospital, future parents are required to provide official confirmation of stability and the possibility of raising a child. Therefore, the OOP must provide:
- application of the established form,
- passports of both adoptive parents or one, depending on the situation,
- medical certificate confirming the examination,
- 2-NDFL certificate or other confirmation of the monthly income of each family member,
- a certificate confirming the suitability of the living space (drawn up by a commission based on a survey),
- job description from the place of work,
- information from the house register,
- a certificate from the bank about the status of the personal account,
- a certificate confirming the absence of criminal prosecution in the past.
Sample application
Documents will be required both for registration with the guardianship authorities and when going to court. The certificates are valid for 3 months. If the line was approaching slowly, you will have to collect the papers 2 times.
How to find a child?
The only way to take a child from the maternity hospital is to stand in line at the guardianship department at the location of the maternity hospital. It is better to choose small regional centers. Abandoned children rarely appear in them, but there are even fewer candidates for adoptive parents. Most citizens in such settlements want to take the child into custody or into a foster family.
The more such district centers you visit and apply for registration, the higher the chances of finding the baby.
Guardianship departments do not register documents sent by email, mail, or fax. You must attend a personal appointment.
Popular mistakes of adoptive parents
Families who want to adopt a child from a maternity hospital often make the following mistakes:
- They are not collecting documents because they are waiting for the baby to appear. The procedure for collecting documents and obtaining an opinion takes 1-2 months. And the child will be given for adoption to candidates who registered earlier.
- We received a conclusion from the guardianship department that it was impossible to become a candidate and stopped trying. The commission from the guardianship department can be subjective. Therefore, you can always try to challenge the conclusion about impossibility in court. The courts often accommodate candidates.
- Forgot to update documents. Documents have a validity period. You cannot receive a referral with an expired conclusion, income certificate or medical certificate.
- They are trying to negotiate on forums to buy a newborn baby from a pregnant woman. Selling and buying children is a criminal offense. Every year there are 3-4 trials of citizens who tried to buy children.
- They find out about the child in the maternity hospital and impulsively decide to adopt him. First you will have to go through the training and preparation of documents. There is no need to be upset, but this child will definitely not be taken away.
Personal experience: “I left the child in the maternity hospital”
Circumstances are different, so do not judge, lest you be judged. Our heroine mothers pulled out skeletons from their closets and told them the worst family secret.
Larisa
“I left the boy in the maternity hospital and he was immediately handed over to a childless couple. I already had a 5-year-old daughter, but there was no husband. Mom died early, and father said that he would not let her go home with an additional weight. I was lying at my feet, asking him to let me live in the house for six months or a year, but he refused. He said, go where you were. And in the maternity hospital they began to persuade me to leave the child. A midwife I knew needed a healthy baby and she convinced me that he would be fine in his new family, but I had no prospects. It didn’t occur to me to leave the child in the Orphanage and then take him away.
So much time has passed, but I still cry when I remember. I abandoned my child. I'm so trashy. Yes, I know that many of my friends had an abortion, which means they also abandoned the child. They killed him. And my boy is alive and well, studying, playing sports. Every year I learn about him carefully so as not to harm him. Heart ache. His parents love him and spoil him. I got married a second time, but we didn’t have any more children. I think this is payment for my sin."
Oksana
“I left the child in the maternity hospital. I'm 24. Not married, no children. I found out that I was pregnant at 4 months. I knew right away that I would leave it. I have no housing, I work and rent a house. During pregnancy I did not smoke, did not drink, and went to a consultation. A girl was born. She has already been adopted. I went to the guardianship and asked. I’m not making excuses, but you couldn’t bring a child into the room I rented; the landlady forbade it. His father has sunk into oblivion, his parents are gone. I understand that this is my cross, I could have sent the children to the orphanage, but I saw how they care for the children there. No, don't. Last month I went to the guardianship and told them that I would keep her, to which they told me that there was a waiting list for a healthy girl.
I prayed that everything would go well. I understand that this is terrible, but I am sure that everything is fine with the child, she is loved. She, sad as it may sound, is better off with them than with me. They faked pregnancy (guardianship said). The only thing I am calm about is that the child is in good hands, he is loved. But my conscience and peace of mind are a different matter. Every day I pray for my girl’s parents, thank them, God give them health and long life.”
Anastasia
“I gave birth to a healthy child and immediately wrote a refusal in the maternity hospital. The thing is, I don't know who the father of the child is. Over the past year I have had a lot of partners. But I live in a village, it’s a shame! Therefore, she fled to the city, gave birth there and left her. I know that literally a week later he was adopted. But I still have big problems as a woman, I still don’t have children.”
Svetlana
“I gave birth to my first daughter at the age of 17, from a soldier who served in our city. Three years later I became pregnant with my second and halfway through the term I already knew that I would refuse. I won't pull it. The girl was adopted by a childless couple. A few years later I got married and gave birth to my second (third) daughter. Our city is small, so it so happened that that childless couple moved to our area, to a neighboring house. Now our girls go to the same school. I met a girl on the street, she is just a copy of me and my girls. But I don’t have maternal feelings for her, she’s someone else’s beautiful girl. I think I did a good deed, I helped a couple become parents. They are very wealthy people, the child has the best everything. Clothes, the sea every year, a happy family.”
