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To speak to an adviser, please call our free and confidential advice line 0808 801 0366 (Monday to Friday 9.30am to 3pm, excluding Bank Holidays). Or you can ask us a question via email using our advice enquiry form.
Birth Links
About this service
We aim to provide support and guidance for birth relatives, before, during and after an adoption order. We have a dedicated team with a wealth of experience that understand the impact adoption may have on birth parents and their families. We can listen to your story and how you are feeling about your child’s adoption. We can explain the often-confusing process of adoption. We can help you write a letter for your child when they are older explaining what happened and how you feel about it. This service is short-term (usually up to six sessions).
This service is available for birth families in
Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, City of Bristol, Gloucestershire
Contact details
- This service is provided by Adoption West
- https://www.adoptionwest.co.uk/birth-links/
- Adoption West (B Bond), PO Box 3399, Bristol, BS1 9NE
- vanessa.thomas@adoptionwest.co.uk or birthlinks@adoptionwest.co.uk
- 07394 569544 or 03303 550333
Who is the service for?
- The child’s birth mother (or pregnant mother)
- The child’s birth father
- The child’s wider family and friends (including grandparents, aunts/uncles)
At what point in the adoption process is support available? When adoption is:
- Being planned (including during court proceedings)
- Has taken place
What support is available?
- General advice and information about adoption
- Support for contact with an adopted child, including letterbox contact (contact is sometimes described as ‘keeping in touch’ or ‘family time’)
- Support groups for birth families affected by adoption
Where is support available?
- In person, at a flexible location, such as your home
- In person, at a specific location
- Online, including virtual meetings or webchat
- Over the phone
How to access the service?
- Contact us directly if you want support (this is also known as self-referral)
How much support is available?
- The service can provide support for the following duration: Six sessions
Key details about the service
- One-to-one support is available at this service
- Additional support for people with disabilities, including learning difficulties and learning disabilities, is available at this service
- Confidential interpreters or translation services are available at this service
Has the service been independently evaluated, with input from family members who have used the service?
No, not at this point
Our funding means we can currently only help 4 in 10 people
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