In Virginia, a parent of a child has legal authority to formally grant custody of that child to another person without the need for a court order. It is remarkable, however, how few people know this. Neither hospitals nor insurance companies will...
After the birth mother has recovered from the delivery, a social worker for the hospital will normally meet with her alone in her room. It is the job of the social worker to discuss the situation with the birth mother in a sensitive and professional manner, and...
In most cases, the birth mother will be in the hospital from one to three days. During this time, she may want to spend time with the baby. The amount of contact a birth mother wants with the child varies considerably. Some want no contact at all,...
Hospital policies concerning adoptions of children born in the hospital are not uniform. Much improvement in these policies has taken place in recent years, and most Virginia hospitals now have simple and straight forward procedures. There are some...
