Jun 29, 2026
Finding out you are pregnant when you were not planning to be is one of the most disorienting experiences a person can go through. The decisions in front of you feel enormous, the timeline feels urgent, and the opinions of everyone around you can make it nearly impossible to hear your own thoughts. I have been a board-certified adoption attorney in Florida for many years, and I have sat across from a lot of women in exactly that place. What I want to offer here is not a push in any direction. It is just honest information, because you deserve to make this decision with a full picture in front of you.
What Are Your Options?
When facing an unplanned pregnancy, most women are weighing some combination of three paths: parenting, adoption, or ending the pregnancy. All three are deeply personal decisions, and no one can make the right choice for you. What I can do is speak honestly about what adoption involves, because it is often the least understood of the three.
What Adoption Is, and What It Is Not
Adoption is not giving up. That language is outdated and it does not reflect what actually happens when a birth mother makes this choice. Placing a baby for adoption is an act of love and intention. It means choosing a family for your child, building a plan for what your relationship with that child looks like going forward, and making a decision that puts your child's future at the center. It is also not permanent loss in the way many people fear. Open adoption, which is very common in Florida, allows birth mothers to stay connected to their child through photos, letters, calls, and visits. Many birth mothers maintain real, ongoing relationships with the children they placed and the families who are raising them.
What the Process Actually Looks Like
One of the reasons adoption feels overwhelming to so many expectant mothers is that they do not know what the process involves. Here is a simple, honest overview:
- You connect with our firm and we talk through your situation and your options with no pressure and no commitment
- If adoption feels like the right path, we help you build a personalized adoption plan that reflects exactly what you want
- You review profiles of pre-screened adoptive families and choose the family yourself
- Financial assistance for pregnancy-related expenses may be available to you during this time
- You maintain full control of your birth plan and your hospital experience
- Under Florida law, no consent can be signed until at least 48 hours after birth, giving you time and space to be certain
There are no surprises. Every step is explained before it happens.
You Do Not Have to Decide Right Now
The most important thing I can tell any expectant mother is that you do not have to have this figured out today. What you do need is accurate information and someone who will give it to you without an agenda. That is what I try to be for every woman who reaches out to me. We have offices across Florida in Tampa, Orlando, Naples, Merritt Island, Jacksonville, and Boca Raton, and we have helped birth mothers across the entire state find a path forward that felt right for them and for their children. Wherever you are in Florida, we can help. If you are facing an unplanned pregnancy and want to talk through your options, call or text me directly. I will give you honest answers and I will listen. Everything is completely confidential. 813-258-3359 — Call or Text Erica Anytime
Erica T. Healey Board-Certified Adoption Attorney Tate Healey Webster, Adoption and Surrogacy Attorneys
