Risks

We will gladly assist you with state, federal, and the Guatemalan legal and social work steps associated with applying to Guatemala to adopt a child. Although problems with dossiers are extremely rare, once the dossier is received in Guatemala, we cannot guarantee a particular result with respect to that application. Every country exercises its own discretion with respect to adoption applications, and they can establish new guidelines as to the type of child who is adoptable or the type of adoptive parent(s) who can adopt, partially close its program, or even stop international adoptions altogether. These risks are inherent in international adoption.

Additionally, medical and/or developmental delays may exist in internationally adopted children, including children adopted from Guatemala. Medical reports will be brief and less sophisticated generally than medical reports prepared in the United States. We did not prepare these reports and cannot guarantee their contents.

We suggest that adoptive parents talk to as many other couples who have completed the adoption process as possible and we predict that you will find very positive responses to health questions, but please check for yourself the experiences of others. Remember, we can provide you with references if you would like them. 

Some of the medical problems that can possibly arise include:

• scars,
• milk intolerance,
• low or high grade heart murmur,
• defective heart valve that requires surgery,
• rickets,
• scabies,
• crossed eyes,
• cleft lip and/or cleft palette,
• hepatitis A, B or C,
• parasitic infection,
• colds and pneumonia,
• attachment delays or problems,
• under-stimulation/delayed development,
• undiagnosed congenital problems,
• effects of institutionalization,
• vision and hearing problems, and
• malnutrition.

By proceeding with A Helping Hand, couples or singles certify that they have considered the risks mentioned above and understand that the list is not exhaustive.  As such, the adoptive parents assume all health, developmental, and governmental risks associated with the adoption.

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