The Infertility Answer Book

by Sember, Brette McWhorter

• ISBN13: 9781572485310
• ISBN10: 1572485310
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-10-01
• Publisher: Sphinx Pub

Summary

Your guide to building a family through adoption.

Table of Contents

Introduction	xiii
SECTION I: ASSISTED REPRODUCTION
Understanding & Evaluating Reproductive Technologies	3	(14)
Understanding Your Condition
What Technology Can Do for You
What Technology Cannot Do for You
Understanding Terminology
Finding Medical Professionals You are Comfortable With Success Rates
Your Right to ART
Initial Visit
Setting Limits
Privacy
Your Rights as an Art Patient
Weighing Technology vs. Adoption
Weighing the Use of Donors
Ethical Considerations
HIV and Assisted Reproduction
Dealing with Risks
Fertility Specialist Questionnaire
Coping with Art	17	(4)
Deal with Emotions
Making Time for Art
Keeping Your Relationship Stable
Live Your Life
Affording Fertility Treatments	21	(8)
Insurance
Thinking About Costs
Medical Spending Accounts
Financing Fertility
Taxes
Fertility for Singles	29	(2)
Finding Medical Providers
Discrimination
Considerations
Gay and Lesbian Assisted Reproduction	31	(4)
Finding Doctors and Clinics
Legal Parents
Discrimination
Insemination	35	(12)
Laws
Types of Sperm Donors
Legal Parents
Future Considerations
Choosing a Sperm Bank Questionnaire
Egg Donation	47	(8)
Finding a Donor
Donation Process
Cost
Agreement
State Laws
Legal Rights
Future Contact with the Donor
Ovarian Tissue Donation
Choosing a Clinic Questionnaire
Embryo Donation	55	(10)
Finding a Donor
State Laws
Costs
Agreement
Issues
Privacy
Clinic Evaluation Questionnaire
Surrogacy	65	(12)
Laws Concerning Surrogacy
The Legal Process of Surrogacy
California Procedure
Surrogacy Programs
Finding a Surrogate on Your Own
Surrogacy Agreements
Payment Issues
Insurance Coverage
Problems with Surrogacy
Other Steps to Protect Yourself
Choosing a Surrogacy Program Questionnaire
Emerging Technologies	77	(6)
Nuclear Transfer
In Vitro Maturation
Cytoplasmic Transfer
Cloning
Cryopreservation	83	(4)
Contract
Cost
Divorce
Death of a Parent
Raising an ART Child	87	(4)
Explaining Things to Your Child
Coping with Other People
Medical Information
Helping Your Child Locate His or Her Donors or Surrogates
Moving from Fertility to Adoption	91	(4)
SECTION II: ADOPTION
Understanding Adoption	95	(8)
Legal Effects
Birth Parents' Rights and Roles
Extended Birth Family
Legal Process
Making the Decision to Adopt
Preparing for the Adoption Rollercoaster
Preparing for the Future
Adoption Decisions	103	(16)
Open vs. Closed Adoption
Domestic vs. International Adoption
Agency vs. Private Adoption
Finding and Choosing an Agency
Finding and Choosing an Attorney
Facilitators
Affording Adoption
Agency Evaluation Questionnaire
Attorney Evaluation Questionnaire
Adoption Procedures	119	(20)
Home Studies
Consent
No Consent Needed
Notice
Timing of Consent
Consent Procedures
Revocation
Adoption Court Procedures
Postplacement
Birth Certificates
Adoption Financial Credits
Family Leave
Insurance and Planning for the Future
Second-Parent Adoption	139	(6)
Deciding to Adopt a Stepchild
Qualifications to Adopt
Notice or Consent
Preadoption Procedures
Second-Parent Adoption Process
Domestic Agency Adoption	145	(16)
Public Agencies
Agency Liability
Private Agency Adoption
Interstate Issues
Ethnic Concerns
International Adoption	161	(12)
Choosing an Agency
Choosing a Country
Choosing a Child
Dealing with Paperwork
The Process
Dealing with Immigration
Citizenship
Readoption
Changes in Adoption Law
Forms Checklist for International Adoption
International Agency Questionnaire
Parent-Initiated Adoption	173	(14)
Adopting Independently with an Agency
How to Find a Birth Mother
Facilitator
Advertising
Choosing a Birth Mother
Contact with Birth Mother
Payments
Counseling
Waiting for Your Child to be Born
Paperwork
Adjustment Period
Choosing a Facilitator Questionnaire
Potential Birth Mother Questionnaire
Single-Parent Adoption	187	(4)
Considerations for Single-Parent Adoption
Bias Against Single Parents
Home Studies
Laws Governing Single-Parent Adoption
Protecting Your Family
Raising Your Child
Gay and Lesbian Adoption	191	(6)
Single-Parent Adoption
Second-Parent Adoption
Couple Adoption
International Adoption
Finding Gay-Friendly Adoption Agencies
Raising an Adoptive Child
Coping with Adoption	197	(6)
Dealing with Reactions to Adoption
Dealing with Others Involved in Your Case
Dealing with the Waiting
Dealing with Doubts
Changing Your Mind
Taking Time Off for Your Adoption
Bonding with an Adopted Child
Dealing with Adoption Disappointments
Raising an Adopted Child	203	(8)
Celebrating Your Adoption
Breastfeeding an Adopted Infant
Talking to Your Biological Children about Adoption
Raising Biological and Adopted Siblings
Talking to Your Child about His or Her Adoption
Keeping an Adoption a Secret
Cultural Heritage
Medical Issues
Postadoption Support
Finding Birth Parents
Epilogue	211	(2)
Glossary	213	(8)
Appendix A: Resources	221	(12)
Appendix B: Forms	233	(28)
Index	261	(16)
About the Author	277