Years of longing for a child of one's own can take a toll on a couple's emotional well being and the marriage too. Adoption is a beautiful concept that provides a childless couple with a child to love, and an abandoned child with a home.

Adoption is perhaps one of the most important decisions in a couple's life, and it's an important milestone for the child too. And just as pregnancy involves 9 months of preparation, adoptive parents too need time to prepare for the arrival of baby. In India, adoption involves a considerable waiting period between registration and receiving the baby. While it can be frustrating to wait too long, this period can be utilized to prepare one's self emotionally for parenthood.

Here's what a couple could do to prepare themselves for this labour of love...

• Get Informed - Gather all the information you can about adoption from books, the Internet and by talking to other adoptive parents. Learn all about the basics of adoption, the state laws and legal procedures. Joining support groups and attending seminars and conferences will also help you make a thoroughly informed decision about adoption.
• Look inward - for this is the time to take an honest look at your beliefs on adoption. Ask yourself if you have the ability to accept full-time parenting of someone who is not actually your flesh and blood. Take stock of your emotional disposition by asking yourself,
  • Do I have patience and perseverance?
  • Do I get flustered when caught up in tricky situations?
  • Do I have the flexibility required to face all odds as well as the strength to be consistent?
• Your emotional wellbeing is vital for the welfare of the child, so you will need to make sure that you can be stable in all situations.
• Be prepared to Love - Do not look upon the act of adoption as a favour. And, do not have very high expectations about your child. For example, a parent who is willing to adopt should not be driven by narrow considerations like sex and colour. Infact, there have been cases of adoptive parents wanting only a male child or a fair complexioned girl child. Such preferences defeat the very purpose of adoption.
• Prepare your home - just as you would get ready to welcome a biological child. If there are older children at home, talk to them about the new arrival. Give them the reasons for adopting a child. Teach them to share, care and adjust their schedules to make room for the baby and prepare them emotionally for a life with divided parental attention.
• Choose an adoption agency with care - A good agency should be able to provide you with a counselor and essential services (like support groups and parenting classes) before and after the placement of the child in your family. Get to know the agency and understand their adoptive practices and policies - before you begin the adoption procedure.

And before you adopt, there are a few things that you need to ensure for a safe and happy future:

• Get a copy of the original Birth Certificate of the child
• Make sure the parental rights of the natural parents have been terminated
• Get health and insurance coverage for all members of the family, including the new one
• Enroll yourself for some essential therapies or services, to help adjust to the new arrival

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