How Do I Create a Good Profile Book?

When you begin the process of becoming an adoptive parent, you will create something called a profile book. This profile book will allow you to introduce yourself to anyone considering making an adoption plan for their child. 

Many adoptive parents put a lot of time and energy into creating this book, as they should. Your profile book is very important and will be the first impression given to anyone who sees it. 

An expectant mother will be able to look through many profile books, so it is important to represent yourself ethically and truthfully while also making yourself stand out. 

We have put together a few tips for adoptive parents to create a profile book that can be beneficial to both themselves and anyone reading it. 

Understand your audience 

While the content of a profile book will mostly be about you and your family, remember that it is for an expectant mother and anyone else she may have within her support system helping her make this decision.

You want to keep in mind the expectant mother who is reading your book with every word you write. Remember that she is most likely in a difficult place making an impossibly hard decision. 

You will want to include a “hello letter” at the beginning of your profile book. This will be one of the few items within your profile book that isn’t about you but is all about addressing the woman reading it. Be sure to focus on her in this portion remembering you have the whole rest of the book to talk about yourself!

Choose language wisely

Language really matters when it comes to creating your profile book. It is one of the ways you can make your book stand out from others and is also one of the ways you can make sure your profile is ethically correct. 

You may not realize but it can be easy to fall into a pattern of using coercive language when addressing an expectant mother. You will want to avoid using the term birth mom or birth parents. This will imply parental rights have already been given up or that she has already chosen adoption when in reality a mother is only considering adoption until the baby is born and parental rights have been released. 

You will also want to avoid speaking about your own calling or desire to become a parent. Anyone considering adoption for their child are in the middle of making a really hard and emotional decision. The reality is that she didn’t get pregnant to fulfill your dream of becoming a parent and might feel a bit embarrassed that she is considering adoption.

Ethical and healthy language will be key to creating a good profile book. You want to think about the woman reading your book with every word you write. 

Does it portray your family accurately? How will it make the person who is reading it feel? 

As a potential adoptive parent our Christian adoption agency near Columbus, Ohio can help you create a profile book that will both represent your family well and respect the person who may be reading. 

We understand that it is an honor for each of our adoptive families to even be considered by an expectant parent through these profile books, we see the value in each word written and want to help you understand this as well.

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