gHospital 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 hospitals, however, that have policies making adoption situations very difficult.  It is important to understand the policy and to communicate with the appropriate staff in advance of the birth whenever possible.

In most cases, the adoption attorney will call or write the hospital’s social services office or the charge nurse of the Labor and Delivery ward to make sure that the hospital has advance notice.  he will inform the appropriate person that the birth mother will be admitted for delivery within a certain time frame and that this will be an anticipted adoption placement.  The staff of the hospital will make sure that notice is posted for any personnel who need to be aware of the situation.