South Dakota Resources to Help Birth Mothers

Pregnancy Information and Resources

Our resources for pregnant women begin with support groups and medical assistance information, and include everything from health and nutrition to drugs and alcohol.  We also offer information on labor and delivery, morning sickness, depression, prenatal care, a pregnancy calendar, as well information on selecting a hospital plus a list of crisis centers available throughout the U.S. and Canada.  You can also contact the child welfare agency in South Dakota.

Pregnancy And Children

Good news to help pregnant women!  We have now created the single largest source of information on the Internet to assist pregnant women.  Everything you need to understand about pregnancy and how to care for your child, plus financial, medical and emotional help resources are now all in one place to help make life easier for you. Please visit our site to assist pregnant women at:

Children and Pregnancy

Financial Help

This website and several other websites we have developed are designed to help you whether you are pregnant or have already given birth to a child. These sites can help you find financial, medical and even emotional assistance whether you are planning to raise your child yourself or are thinking about placing your child for adoption.

Our websites can also help you find financial and other types of assistance for pregnant women, as well as unplanned pregnancy resources.  We have also included resources on the South Dakota WIC program as well as the overall government WIC program (women, infants and children), infant safe haven laws, shelters for pregnant women, and help with domestic violence.

Government Benefits and Services lists a multitude of U.S. federal government benefit programs available to pregnant women, birth mothers, and birth fathers. If you want help understanding the adoption laws, regulations, and procedures of your state or of any state, visit our Laws for Child Adoption site or contact the local child welfare agency for South Dakota.

Parenting

Parenting a child can be a wonderful experience. At the same time it can be challenging financially, physically and emotionally. Planning for an adoption is one of the options of every birth mother and birth father.  These following resources are for those of you who are seeking help and ideas for raising your child. The resources include support groups for birth mothers, information to help birth fathers  to be the best fathers they can be, information on child development from ages 0-21, child/infant health information and advice on baby care, and breast feeding tips.  We have also included resources on the South Dakota WIC program.

Adoption

If you are considering placing your child for adoption, the resources below will help you in making the right choices for you and your child. They include:

Where to start and how to get started give a valuable overview of the adoption process and information about adoption alternatives.

Many people are not aware that there are many types of adoption and that the choices you make can affect you and your child. For instance, there is agency adoption or private adoption, and open adoption or closed adoption. These choices can have a big impact on the lives of you and your child and we recommend you read the following resources and understand them fully.

An agency adoption is the safest type of adoption for a birth mother and her child. An "agency adoption" is arranged through an adoption agency that is licensed and monitored.  Private adoption, on the other hand, can be much more risky than an agency adoption, and is arranged through a private individual, often a lawyer, physician, non-licensed facilitator, or referral service.

A closed adoption  is an adoption in which you, the birth mother, and the family interested in adoption do not know each other's last names or other specific identifying information. An open adoption is an adoption where the birth mother, birth father, and the family interested in adoption exchange identifying information and are then able, if they so choose, to be in direct contact with one another.

Using an adoption facilitator is one type of private adoption that needs special warning. Adoption facilitators have become such an important area of concern that even the U.S. government has stepped in and has warned both birth mothers and adopting families to work with an adoption agency and avoid adoption facilitators.

Selecting the right agency is an important early step. Agencies come in a variety of forms. They can be for-profit or non-profit, public or private and domestic or international. But the most important fact to remember is that agencies are licensed to give you options and protections that are not available when you deal directly with an adoption facilitator, doctor, or attorney.

Placing children with a relative of the birth mother or birth father is a special type of adoption that some pregnant women consider.

Support groups are available for pregnant teens as well as adult birth mothers and birth fathers who are thinking about adoption or have already completed a placement.  Click here to see support groups in South Dakota and support groups across the USA.

Emotional issues, problems, and concerns frequently increase during and after a pregnancy. This site looks carefully at depression and at other emotional issues that a birth mother and birth father face regarding adoption.

Adoption Laws and Rights

A birth mother's legal rights, just like a birth father's legal rights, are protected in every U.S. state including rights regarding the ending of the birth mother's and the birth father's parental rights.  Your adoption agency, in conjunction with their attorney, should help you with your rights and with the adoption law and adoption procedures.

Laws for Child Adoption is a site we built to help you to learn about your rights and includes the adoption laws of South Dakota as well as the child adoption laws for every state.

Infant safe haven laws have been added to many state statutes to help reduce infant abandonment and infanticide.

Additional Information and Help

My staff and I have also created the websites below in case you need additional information:

Children and Pregnancy
Laws for Child Adoption
Psychologist Anywhere Anytime

If you are considering placing your child for adoption we would be happy to help find a safe and loving home with a family that has been very carefully and thoroughly screened. We can help you regardless of what state you are in.  Our services to you are free, your medical and legal expenses will be provided for and we will make sure that you receive whatever reimbursement for housing, lost wages and living expenses that state laws allow. If there is anything we can do to help you and your baby, please let us know. And...

Make sure to take good care of yourself and your baby and, if you need additional information or assistance, please feel free to contact us.