Can I Choose Adoption If I'm Using Substances?

If you are pregnant and using drugs or alcohol, adoption is still an option you can explore. Substance use during pregnancy does not automatically prevent you from making an adoption plan, and you do not need to be sober, in treatment, or have a perfect medical history before contacting an adoption agency.

At Alaska Adoption Services, you can talk honestly and confidentially about your circumstances and learn about your options without judgment or pressure. Whether you are currently using substances, in treatment, in recovery, or used drugs or alcohol before realizing you were pregnant, we can help you understand what adoption may look like for you.

Can I Choose Adoption If I Used Drugs or Alcohol During Pregnancy?

Yes. Women considering adoption come from many different circumstances, including substance use, addiction, treatment, and recovery.

It is important to share what you know about substance use with your healthcare providers and Alaska Adoption Services. This helps medical professionals provide appropriate prenatal care and prepare for your baby's potential medical needs. It also helps prospective adoptive families make informed decisions about the situations they are prepared to consider.

You do not need to remember every substance, date, or amount. Share as much accurate information as you reasonably can.

Will an Adoptive Family Still Want My Baby?

Many women worry that prenatal substance exposure will make it impossible to find an adoptive family. However, there are prospective adoptive parents who are open to different medical histories and prenatal circumstances, including some types of substance exposure.

Alaska Adoption Services can help identify waiting families who may be appropriate for your situation. You can still learn about prospective adoptive parents, ask questions, and participate in choosing the family you believe is right for your child.

What If I'm Currently in Treatment or Recovery?

You can explore adoption while participating in a residential or outpatient substance use treatment program. You do not need to leave treatment or put your recovery on hold.

With your permission, we may also coordinate with treatment providers, counselors, social workers, healthcare professionals, case managers, or other people already supporting you.

Choosing adoption and seeking treatment are separate decisions. Being in treatment does not mean you have to choose adoption, and considering adoption does not mean you have failed in recovery or parenting.

What If I'm Afraid to Tell Anyone About My Substance Use?

You may worry about being judged, what will happen at the hospital, how substance use could affect your other children, or whether child welfare agencies could become involved. These concerns can feel especially difficult in a small Alaska community where privacy may already feel limited.

Alaska Adoption Services can help you understand the adoption process and connect you with appropriate medical, legal, treatment, or community professionals when questions extend beyond adoption. Laws, reporting requirements, medical decisions, and child welfare issues depend on individual circumstances, so we will never promise an outcome that an adoption agency cannot guarantee.

What If My Baby Has Medical Needs After Birth?

Prenatal substance exposure affects babies differently. Your baby's healthcare team will determine whether monitoring, testing, treatment, or additional hospital care is needed.

If your baby needs medical care or additional time in the hospital, that does not automatically prevent an adoption from moving forward. We can coordinate the adoption-related process and help identify an adoptive family prepared for your baby's known medical needs.

Do I Still Get to Choose the Adoptive Family?

Yes. Substance use does not take away your voice in the adoption process.

Alaska Adoption Services specializes in open adoption and does not facilitate closed adoption. You can consider what matters to you in an adoptive family and discuss the relationship you hope to have after placement, including pictures, updates, calls, communication, and visits.

View our waiting families here!

Can I Choose Adoption at the Hospital?

Yes. You can contact us from the hospital, even after your baby has been born. You may not seriously consider adoption until labor begins, after delivery, or when circumstances unexpectedly change.

We can explain your options, your rights, and the next steps. You should not feel pressured to make an immediate adoption decision simply because your baby has already been born.

What If I Live in Rural Alaska?

Alaska Adoption Services works with women throughout Alaska, including rural and remote communities where prenatal healthcare, substance use treatment, and adoption resources may be difficult to access.

Depending on your location, we can communicate remotely and help coordinate with healthcare providers, treatment programs, social workers, tribal health organizations, and other community resources closer to you.

Learn more about our adoption services for Alaska villages here!

Pregnant and Using Drugs or Alcohol? You Can Still Ask About Adoption

Substance use does not take away your right to ask questions about your pregnancy or adoption options. Contacting Alaska Adoption Services does not commit you to adoption. You can learn about open adoption in Alaska, explore waiting families, understand available support, and decide whether making an adoption plan is right for you.

If you are pregnant and using substances and considering adoption in Alaska, you do not have to wait until you are sober, in treatment, or certain about adoption before reaching out. Alaska Adoption Services is here to help you understand your choices without judgment.