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From the Heart... Click to read letters from Lifetime birthmothers, sharing their stories and hopes for the future.
Insurance and Financial Resources Information for women who are either pregnant or taking care of an infant.
The Reality of the Date Rape Drug Find out some of the leading date rape drugs and the harmful effects that they can cause. Also, learn some preventable tips that can help you avoid being a victim.
Legacy of an Adopted Child A poem celebrating both birthmother and adoptive mother in the life of an adopted child.
The Truth About Abortion One teen's report on the state of abortion in this country.
Poetry for People Touched by Adoption A collection of poems for birth parents and adoptive parents alike. Touching and heartfelt, it expresses the emotions which are sometimes difficult to find the words for.
Lifetime Letters A collection of letters written by both birth families and adoptive families.
Traveling by Air to Visit Your Lifetime Adoption Team
We encourage prospective adoptive and birth families to come and meet our staff personally whenever possible.
Crisis Pregnancy Online Provides information about unplanned pregnancy and honest information about your options.
Pregnancy Help Online Information about pregnancy options, symptoms, and answers to questions for unexpected pregnancies. Especially good for pregnant teens.
Lifetime Adoption Foundation Provides educational scholarships to birthmothers who have placed children for adoption.
Crisis help
The links below this page contain various research papers or studies done on Birth mother's. We do not agree with every source, but we feel it is helpful to list all of the opinions when helping birth mother's.
Safeguarding the Rights and Well-being of Birthparents in the Adoption Process
Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute (2006)
Findings and recommendations based on a year-long examination and analysis of research, literature, interviews and experiences relating to the rights of birthparents in domestic infant adoption.
What Works in Permanency Planning: Adoption
North Carolina University Chapel Hill School of Social Work (2000)
View Abstract
Adoptions are most successful when agencies provide comprehensive and accurate information to the adoptive parents. This report also highlights the importance of expedited permanency planning.
Bajema, Clifford E. Abortion and the Meaning of Personhood. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1974. 114 pp.
Brody, Baruch. Abortion and the Sanctity of Human Life: A Philosophical View. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1975. 162 pp.
Brown, Harold O.J. Death Before Birth. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1977. 168 pp.
Davis, John Jefferson Abortion and the Christian: What Every Believer Should Know. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1984. 125 pp.
Ganz, Richard L., ed. Thou Shalt Not Kill: The Christian Case Against Abortion. New Rochelle, N.Y.: Arlington House, 1978. 200 pp.
Grisez, Germain. Abortion: The Myths, the Realities, the Argument. New York: Corpus, 1970. 559 pp.
Hilgers, Thomas W., Horan, Dennis J., and Mall, David, eds. New Perspectives on Human Abortion. Frederick, Md.: University Publications of America, 1981. 504 pp. A valuable collection of essays on the medical, legal, social, and philosophical dimensions of the issue.
Hilgers, Thomas W., and Horan, Dennis J., eds. Abortion and Social Justice. New York: Sheed and Word, 1972. 328 pp.
Koop, C. Everett. The Right to Live: the Right to Die. Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1976. 124 pp.
Mall, David, and Watts, Walter R., eds. The Psychological Aspects of Abortion. Washington: University Publications of America, 1979. 156 pp.
Nathanson, Bernard N. Aborting America. Garden City: Doubleday, 1979. 320 pp.
Noonan, John T., Jr. A Private Choice: Abortion in America in the Seventies. New York: Free Press, 1979. 244 pp.
Schaeffer, Francis A., and Koop, C. Everett. Whatever Happened to the Human Race? Old Tappan, N.J.: Fleming H. Revell, 1979. 256 pp.
Willke, Dr. and Mrs. J.C. Handbook on Abortion. Cincinnati: Hayes, 1971, 1975. 208 pp.
Periodicals
Human Life Review. Human Life Foundation, Inc., 215 Lexington Ave., 4th Floor, New York, NY 10016 (212) 685-5210
National Right to Life News
AbortionFacts.com
Life-Related Supreme Court Decisions
Sanctity of Life Bible Passages
Adopted Celebrities
famous adoptions
Facts
Education
For Adopted Kids
Truth
Guides
http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/finalconflict/a14-6.html
Letter from Priests on Consistent Ethic of Life
Abortion as the Fundamental Issue
Call for Abolition of the Death Penalty
Gabriel Project: We are here to help you
| Words and Abortion | |
| General Abortion Information | |
| Abortionists Speak | |
| Reasons for Abortion |
Abortion and the Christian: What Every Believer Should Know
Centers for Disease Control Abortion Surveillance
What about your state?
Click for abortion statistics
How to Evaluate Polls: A complete guide to evaluating polls including looking at the wording, questions, samples, and more. Examples and graphs.
U.S. Statistics
Abortions since 1972 and the Characteristics of the women who had them
Abortions, details of abortion less than 8 weeks gestation
Abortions by weeks of gestation and procedure type
Abortions by race
Abortions by Hispanic background
State Abortion Statistics
All statistics for all states
Abortions, by age
Abortions, details of abortion less than 8 weeks gestation
Abortions, by weeks of gestation
Abortions, details of adolescent abortions
Abortions, by type of procedure
Abortions, by race
Abortions, by marital status
Abortions, by number of previous live births
Abortions, by number of previous induced legal abortions
Abortions, by Hispanic origin
Reported number, ratio, and rate of abortions and percentage of abortions obtained by out-of-state residents
World Statistics
World Abortion Statistics
Australia Abortion Statistics
Brazil's Abortion Statistics
Canada's Abortion statistics
China's Abortion Statistics
Safeguarding the
Rights and Well-Being of Birthparents in the Adoption
Process
Info gathered from resources cited at bottom of page:
Each year in the United States, approximately 14,000 women
and a growing number of men make an agonizing parenting
decision that they hope will provide their children with the
best possible future: They place their babies for adoption.
At the same time, policy-makers across this country each
year propose and implement measures meant to improve
adoption, often based on their perceptions of what these
parents want and need. Historically and through the present
day, however, adoption-related laws, policies and practices
have been made without the benefit of solid research that
might answer the most basic, underlying questions: What are
the characteristics of mothers and fathers who relinquish
their infants for adoption? Why do they choose this path?
And how can their needs and rights best be served and
protected?
Due largely to the secretive nature of adoption’s past, the
state of knowledge about infant adoptions in the 21st
century is deficient, at best. There is no broad, concrete
body of work on who these women and men typically are, what
forces shape their decisions, or how adoption impacts the
rest of their lives. We do not even know precisely how many
babies are placed for adoption in this country annually.
Indeed, though domestic infant adoption is what most people
think of when they hear the word “adoption,” it is the least
common type in the U.S. today (after adoption from foster
care, from abroad, and by step-parents), and it is the type
we know the least about.
A study by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute
represents the most thorough, intensive and sophisticated
effort to date to understand contemporary infant adoption,
particularly as it relates to the least-understood and
most-stigmatized participants in the process – the women and
men usually termed “birthparents.”
Among the principal findings in this report are:
More adoptions take place each year than is commonly
perceived or reported. The Institute estimates more than
135,000 annually, of which about 13,000 to 14,000 involve
babies who are voluntarily relinquished domestically. Of
non-stepparent adoptions each year, approximately 59 percent
are from the child welfare system, 26 percent from abroad,
and 15 percent of domestic infants.
Overall, the parents placing their children for adoption
in the 21st Century are very diverse and different from
their counterparts in previous generations. They are no
longer primarily teenagers; in fact, only about one-fourth
are teens. The predominant profile is young women in their
20s who have graduated from high school, many of whom have
other children.
The vast majority of adoption agencies, as well as
independent practitioners, offer open adoptions, in which
identifying information is exchanged. Many of the adoptions
they arrange also are mediated adoptions, in which ongoing
information is exchanged through the agency.
wpg1c4.gif
An overwhelming proportion of contemporary birthmothers
have met the adoptive parents of their children – probably
90 percent or more – and almost all of the remaining
birthmothers helped to choose the new parents through
profiles. Contrary to the stereotypes that have been created
about them, almost no women choosing adoption today seek
anonymity or express a desire for no ongoing information or
contact.
Available data and experience indicate a minority of
infant adoptions involve fathers in the process. The
strongest protection for their rights and for the legitimacy
of the adoption process requires identification of
biological fathers and notifying them of adoption
proceedings. Many states have established putative father
registries to involve these men, but they are often used as
a means of cutting them out rather than including them.
Principally because adoption is not well understood by the
public generally, most women struggling to make decisions
about unplanned pregnancies do not have accurate information
with which to make an informed choice about whether this is
a reasonable option for them.
In some states, attorneys paid by and representing the
prospective adoptive parents also may represent the women
(and men when they are involved) considering placing their
children. This practice of dual representation raises acute
ethical and practical concerns.
Research findings consistently show that women who feel
pressured into placing their children suffer from poorer
grief resolution and greater negative feelings. Most states
do not have laws that maximize sound decision-making,
however, such as required counseling, waiting periods of at
least several days after childbirth before signing
relinquishments, and adequate revocation periods during
which birthparents can change their minds.
Research on birthparents in the era of confidential
(closed) adoptions suggests a significant proportion
struggled – and sometimes continue to struggle – with
chronic, unresolved grief. The primary factor bringing peace
of mind is knowledge about their children’s well-being.
Current research on birthmothers concludes that being able
to choose the adoptive family and having ongoing contact
and/or knowledge results in lower levels of grief and
greater peace of mind with their adoption decisions.
Women who have the highest grief levels are those who
placed their children with the understanding that they would
have ongoing information, but the arrangement was cut off.
Such contact/information is the most important factor in
facilitating birthparents’ adjustment, but only 13 states
have laws to enforce post-adoption contact agreements in
infant adoptions.
Perhaps the most remarkable finding in the Adoption
Institute’s work on this paper was that there are no current
studies that have examined a representative sample of women
(or men) choosing to place their children for adoption
today. The most recent research focused on adolescent
respondents but, as noted above, that age group comprises
only a minority of contemporary birthparents. Additional
research therefore is vital in order to develop laws,
policies and practices that genuinely address the rights,
needs and desires of women and men who choose adoption for
their children.
wpg204.gif
RAPID CHANGES IN ADOPTION PRACTICE
Adoptions today have changed radically from the clandestine
and often-coercive arrangements that many young women
experienced in earlier generations. For example,
historically, birthmothers were primarily unwed teenage
mothers who often had to drop out of school and leave home
during their pregnancies. Today that profile is rare. The
Adoption Institute’s analysis of available data indicates
that only about one-fourth of women choosing adoption are
below the age of 20. Most birthmothers have completed high
school, and many have other children. According to
practitioners, the most common situations among women
choosing adoption today include women in their early- to
mid-20s who are just becoming independent from their
parents, and single women with other children who believe
they cannot manage parenting another child at this point.
The Institute also concludes that total secrecy has become
rare in current infant adoption practice, and it is
considered poor practice for everyone concerned by a growing
majority of professionals. Socalled closed (or confidential)
adoption, in which there is no contact or exchange of
information, is actually a relatively recent phenomenon that
became prevalent in the U.S. by the 1950s. The body of
research on birthmothers who relinquished children for
adoption in the era of total secrecy chronicles a negative,
long-term impact of this experience on many areas of their
lives, including triggering chronic, severe grief reactions
and contributing to ongoing complications in future
parenting and marriage relationships.
Living with the uncertainty of what became of their “I have
never forgotten for one minute children is identified by
birthmothers in closed that I have a son ‘out there.’ It has
always adoptions as the most difficult factor they cope
with, hurt worrying about him and not knowingand receiving
information about their children is singled ain mwith mif
hegain.e sim’s” okay… I basiy lifeply stoppe’ in some resd
ancallpecy did not ‘d never ts. Something startgo on edof
contemporary stereotypes of birthmothers as bring them peace
of mind. That reapaper as thout in the research ane most
important thingd literature examined f that would help to
lity flies in the face or this women who crave anonymity and
oppose contact by the children they placed for adoption;
rather, the desire to know about their offspring appears
almost universal. For example, one study of birthmothers in
Britain, who ranged in age from 22 to 81, found that all but
nine of the 262 respondents (about 3 percent) wanted basic
information about their children. The same small number said
they wanted to preserve the secrecy of their identities.
Beginning in the 1970s, agencies began offering alternatives
to absolute secrecy; there has been a progressive trend
toward more openness in infant adoptions ever since, and the
great majority of agencies now offer adoptions that are open
to varying extents. Still, the proportion of adoptions today
that are planned to be closed (confidential), mediated
(information exchanged through agencies), or open
(identities exchanged) is not known. We do know that almost
all prospective birthmothers (approximately 90 percent)
choose and meet the adoptive parents of their children, and
even the majority of those who do not meet are able to
choose the new parents from profiles. Furthermore, many
pregnant women today seek open adoptions that include
written agreements for ongoing contact with the adoptive
families. Several studies reviewed in this report found
those birthparents who have had contact with the adoptive
family since placement have lower levels of grief, regret
and worry, along with more peace with their decisions, than
those who did not have this opportunity.
Some expectant parents make adoption plans with the desire
and explicit assurance that they will receive information
about or have ongoing contact with their children and their
families – but subsequently have to cope with the impact of
this contact being terminated. Currently, 20 states permit
legally enforceable adoption contact agreements, but only 13
apply to infant adoptions. (Penalties for violation of such
contracts include fines, but never return of the child).
This is an area of law in which reforms are critically
needed to support the long-term well-being and adjustment of
birthparents. Many older birthparents whose adoptions were
confidential, seek information about the children they
placed for adoption. Reunions are hampered by laws that
prohibit access to birth records by adoptees. The enactment
of statutes restoring the right of adopted people, once they
reach the age of majority, to gain access to their own birth
records would also be in the best interests of the vast
majority of birthparents who want to know that their
children are alive and well. This is a vivid example of how
misconceptions about birthparents can lead to misguided and
even harmful practices; that is, state legislators
frequently use birthmothers’ supposed desire for privacy as
a rationale for keeping birth records sealed when, in
reality, only a tiny minority wants to stay closeted and the
vast majority want information about or contact with the
children they relinquished.
Recommendation 1: Establish legally enforceable
post-adoption contact agreements in all states and permit
adults who were adopted to regain access to their own
records,
COMPLEXITY OF FORCES SHAPING INFANT ADOPTIONS TODAY
unwed motherhood. As notably, the precipitous decline
inbirth controcultural evolved ratThe institutchaion of
infantnges, inher haphazardly in rel, the legaclud adoption
in the U.S. today haa resulting the widlization of primarily
of those factorespread availability of sponse to sweeping
the stigma against abortion and, mosts, sleastannueach year
– domeyielded aAnalyseal numbstic infs135, con e1ant
ado000.ser of total adoptionndu3timate of th,000 to 14,0cted
for this repoptionDomsestice num in the00 – ansbe U.Sinfan –
atd ther ortt.f the number of infants relinquished for
adoption in this adoptions account for about 15 percent
country has dropped radically. The rate of
voluntary of non-stepparent adoptions, child
placements among never-married white women giving
welfare adoptions make up about 59 birth fell from 19.3
percent in 1973 to 1.7 percent in 1995; percent, and
international adoptions the rate has always been very low
among women of color about 26 percent.
(Chandra, Abma, Maza, & Bachrach, 1999). This scarcity of
infants available for adoption has fueled the creation of
an array of methods to achieve adoptions – from traditional
agencies, to independent attorneys, to match-making
“facilitators,” to internet-abetted arrangements in which
the prospective adoptive parents and birthparents
essentially make most of the arrangements themselves. About
half of all infant adoptions are carried out by independent
practitioners, who facilitate birthparents’ placing their
children directly with potential adoptive parents.
The high costs associated with infant adoptions (typically
$20,000 to $35,000 for all the services involved), the deep
yearning of some prospective parents to adopt a baby, and
the relatively low level of legal regulation of adoption
make the process vulnerable to unscrupulous and unethical
practices. Legal regulation is limited in a number of
critical respects, particularly relating to adoption
facilitators, Internet-based practices, and adoptions
conducted principally by the parents (biological and
adoptive) themselves. This lack of rules and oversight can
threaten the interests of all parties, particularly
birthparents. Because practitioners are paid by adoptive
parents, who typically have higher social status and income,
their needs and desires often supersede those of the other
participants. Laws regulating adoptions vary greatly from
state to state, and generally fall short of adequate
protections of birthparent rights in the adoption process.
HOW ADOPTION LAWS AND PRACTICES SHAPE THE CRITICAL RIGHTS OF
BIRTHPARENTS
Based on an analysis of ethical practice guidelines, decades
of experience, and studies on outcomes, and reforms
advocated by many practitioners, researchers and
birthparents, the Adoption Institute sets forth the
following rights as being in the best interest of women and
men considering adoption for their children (expectant or
already born). A parent should have the right:
To make the placement decision in a fully informed manner,
devoid of pressure or coercion.
To reconsider an adoption plan at any point prior to the
legal finalizing of the relinquishment.
To be informed from the start of any monetary expectations
– such as repayment of financial assistance -- if she
changes her mind about placement.
To exercise all parental rights she/he wishes prior to
placing a child for adoption.
To be treated with dignity, respect, and honesty.
wpg2b5.gif
To have independent legal counsel to protect her/his best
interests in the process.
To receive nondirective counseling to help her/him
understand all of the options and resources available and
the implications of the decision.
To be legally assured that promises and agreements
regarding ongoing information or contact made as a part of
the process will be adhered to.
This report examines how state laws and the practice of
adoption professionals shape the essential rights of
birthparents. Whenever an adoption professional begins
working with expectant parents, it is very important that
clients be informed of all of their rights, both verbally
and in writing.
Recommendation 2: Require all adoption practitioners to
provide a document of birthparents’ rights and
responsibilities, which should be signed by the clients and
the professionals near the beginning of their work together.
LAWS THAT SUPPORT BIRTHPARENTS’ INTERESTS IN ADOPTION
PRACTICE
INFORMED CONSENT THROUGH COUNSELING
Parents considering adoption should be able to make
decisions that are fully informed and free from coercion.
The concept of “informed consent” applies to a range of
decisions in our society; indeed, it is considered best
practice and is legally mandated in some realms, such as
before receiving medical treatments or participating in
research studies. But the concept of being fully informed
before making a decision about relinquishing a child for
adoption has not been fully implemented or legally mandated
in most practice. Ideally, all expectant parents who are
considering adoption would receive factual, unbiased
information through nondirective counseling to help them
explore all of their options, including adoption and
parenting, and to enable them to understand the immediate
and long-term implications of each. The reality is that many
if not most do not receive such counseling. Only about half
the states’ adoption laws mention counseling; some mandate
it and others simply assert that prospective birthparents
should be advised of its availability.
Recommendation 3: Require at least two counseling sessions
with a qualified professional for all women who are placing
children for adoption, during which they are fully informed
about their options, including parenting and various types
of adoption, as well as about the resources available to
them.
Another factor that compromises genuine parental consent is
subtle and/or overt coercion, whether from parents, friends,
religious or school communities, or the adoption
professionals themselves. Adding the ingredient of financial
profit to the equation increases the prospect of pressure
from some adoption practitioners. Indeed, there are
unscrupulous facilitators (and others) who have analyzed the
factors that increase the likelihood of relinquishment and
try to implement them; for instance, they sometimes persuade
an expectant mother to relocate to another state – where she
doesn’t know anyone and has no support system – or to accept
inflated reimbursement for living expenses to increase the
chance that she will feel obliged to relinquish. Overt
coercive tactics should be barred in law and practice;
furthermore, ethical practitioners need to be alert to even
unintended, subtle forms of pressure – so, for instance,
they need to help an expectant mother understand explicitly
that accepting financial aid or developing bonds with the
potential adoptive parents does not obligate her to go
through with the placement if she decides it isn’t right for
her or her child.
THE TIMING OF RELINQUISHMENT AND REVOCATION PERIODS
If the best interests of birthparents are to be supported,
along with those of their children, then sound laws and
practices have to be developed relating to when a woman or
man can sign a
relinquishment and whether the decision can be revoked. To
permit a woman to make a reasoned judgment – which can be
difficult in the days and weeks after childbirth – there
should be a significant period of time before she can sign a
legal relinquishment, and there should be a reasonable
revocation period during which she can change her mind about
placing simply because she wants to be a parent and without
having to jump through legal hoops.
their biologgenerally inEvery society, including our own,
acceptical parents the best intunless they erests of
chcannot or dildren to be s that it o not wish raised by
is within a timeshamind aboIn many statre preor takingut
buying a vacatioes, you can scribed time out a mo perichange
youod, butrtgagenr to do so. Placing a baby for adoption is
an extremely most states do not have a revocation
significant, emotionally fraught decision that
has period during which a mother can
consequences for the biological parents and their
children change her mind about relinquishing
for the rest of their lives. State laws should provide
every her child.
reasonable protection to ensure that the decision is sound,
reasoned and informed. That resonates as intuitively fair
before the child is born, but it also should apply to the
period afterward because that is when post-partum hormonal
changes need time to abate; when the reality (and finality)
of the choice often becomes most real; and when mothers and
fathers need to be allowed to reflect on the “rightness” of
their decision. Though some adoptive parents and
practitioners might balk at the lengths of time involved,
they ultimately serve everyone’s interests because the
adoption is on firmer legal and ethical foundations and
adoptive parents can feel more secure that the birthparents
were sure of their decision and will not try to reclaim
their child.
At least 28 states specify a waiting period after the birth
of a child before legal relinquishments can be signed; only
six states mandate a waiting period longer than three days.
Ideally, state laws would require a minimum of four to seven
days after childbirth before allowing a woman (or man) to
sign a relinquishment. In most instances, that would allow
time for the mother to leave the hospital and for her to
make a reasoned judgment after the immediate physical impact
of delivery has abated.
At least 17 states and the District of Columbia have
adoption laws providing a specified number of days after the
signing of a relinquishment (ranging from three to 30 days)
during which parents can revoke their decisions without
having to prove fraud or best interests of the child. A few
additional states allow revocation before court action
terminating parental rights. In many other countries,
including the majority in Europe, consents for adoption do
not become final for about six weeks; in approximately half
of U.S. states, irrevocable consent can be established four
days after birth or less. In reality, lengthening waiting
and revocation periods requires other considerations – most
notably the care of newborns during this period and the
timing of placement with adoptive parents – be addressed.
Policy-makers need to weigh the interests of all parties in
deciding how long these periods should be.
Recommendation 4: Modify state laws on the timing of
relinquishment and revocation so that parents have several
weeks after childbirth before an adoption decision becomes
irrevocable. Ideally, this would include a minimum of one
week after birth before a relinquishment can be signed and
then a substantial revocation period.
PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF BIRTHFATHERS IN ADOPTION
Men who are legal fathers (also called presumed fathers)
have more rights in the adoption process than do alleged (or
putative) fathers. A man is automatically the legal father
to his wife’s child, but unwed men need to take specific
actions to protect their parental rights. They can best
accomplish this before childbirth by providing financial and
emotional support to the mother, visiting and communicating
regularly with her, and registering in a state putative
father registry if there is one. States vary in the extent
to which they seek to protect the rights of putative fathers
in the adoption process. A fundamental foundation for doing
so is identifying the father, locating him, and notifying
him of his rights. Some states do not require mothers to
identify their children’s fathers, viewing this as a right
of privacy for the women involved, while others require them
to name the fathers and impose penalties for giving false
information.
There are strong ethical, moral and practical reasons to
involve men as fully as possible. Some of the
highest-profile cases in which adoptions were overturned –
and the children were returned to their birthparents –
resulted from the fathers’ legal rights being circumvented
or violated. In other realms, society argues that men cannot
be just sperm donors or “deadbeat dads,” but should assume
responsibility for the lives they helped create. And, of
course, medical and biological information from biological
fathers is as important for the adoptive parents’ rearing of
their children as that provided by their mothers. So the
first essential way to involve men in the adoptive process,
to protect their rights, and thereby to also bolster the
efficacy of the process itself, is to require that they be
identified whenever possible and then be personally notified
of the pending adoption.
Many states have established “putative father registries,”
which men must sign if they believe they have fathered a
child out of wedlock; only fathers who have registered are
entitled to parental rights, including notification of
adoption proceedings. Most Americans do not even know these
registries exist, however, and they have other inherent
problems – for instance, if a man registers in his own state
but the adoption is taking place in another, the court will
not know the father explicitly expressed his intentions.
Lack of registration therefore should not be used as a means
of excusing notification of a known father or excluding a
putative father’s participation. Overall, more aggressive
protection of birthfather rights is needed, including
requiring mothers to identify them, except in extraordinary
circumstances, and working to notify all possible fathers of
adoption proceedings.
Recommendation 5: Require more aggressive protection of
birthfathers’ rights by mandating their identification by
birthmothers whenever possible, and by personally notifying
all possible fathers of adoption proceedings. In states
where putative father registries exist, they should be
widely advertised, and a failure to register should not be
used as an automatic reason for not notifying or involving
men. A national registry would help to alleviate some of
this system’s inherent problems.
wpg385.gif
SUPPORTING THE LONG- TERM ADJUSTMENT OF BIRTHPARENTS
WHAT RESEARCH TELLS US
This report examines the body of research on the long-term
social-psychological consequences of adoption for
birthparents and the primary factors that are important for
their positive adjustment. Most of the research was
conducted on birthparents whose adoptions occurred during
the era of total secrecy. The most current research has
focused on adolescent mothers, a population that is not
representative of the majority of women choosing adoption
for their children today.
The body of literature and research on women who
relinquished their children when adoption was a highly
surreptitious, stigmatized process demonstrates the ongoing,
negative impact of their experiences on important areas of
many of their lives, particularly by causing chronic grief,
difficulties in intimate relationships, and/or complications
in parenting subsequent children. The research on long-term
outcomes of birthmothers is rife with methodological
problems – from use of clinical or selfselected samples, to
conduct of retrospective surveys, to limited utilization of
comparison groups or standardized measures, to failure to
examine outcomes by cohort or adoption practices
experienced.
In order to improve adoption practice and address the needs
of birthparents in the process, it is critically important
to conduct sound research that focuses on birthparents who
participate in all types of infant adoptions today and to
follow them over a period of years.
To participate in our
current research study, "Birth mothers: who are we now?"
click here
Recommendation 6: Address the critical gap in knowledge
about birthparents’ needs and preferences through research
on questions including:
What are the characteristics of women (and men when they
are involved) who choose adoption for their children today
and what are their perspectives in relation to the choices
they make – i.e., abortion, parenting or adoption?
How do they decide on a specific type of adoption, if that
is the road they choose, and what laws, practices and
policies can best meet their needs and desires?
What is the emotional and psychological impact of adoption
loss for birthparents, and what practices facilitate grief
resolution and healthy long-term adjustment for them?
What practices are needed to support all of a child’s
parents in working out their relationships after placement,
including open adoption arrangements?
One important caveat needs to be made before discussing the
challenges birthparents must address in dealing with the
adoption of their children: In today’s more-open,
more-honest adoption climate, many women and men make
successful post-adoption adjustments and feel pride and
confidence about their choices. So, in addition to needing
more competent and current research on birthparents’ needs
and adjustment issues, greater understanding is also
required of those who adjust well to informed adoption
decisions and of which processes helped them to achieve this
comfort level.
SUPPORTING LONG-TERM ADJUSTMENT OF BIRTHPARENTS
Based on analyses of multiple studies, decades of literature
and professional experience, and interviews with
practitioners, the Adoption Institute identified key factors
in promoting the positive, long-term adjustment of
birthparents; these include:
Lack of coercion by others in making the decision about
adoption;
Opportunities to express feelings of loss and receiving
social support; Being empowered to choose the adoptive
family;
Having a level of contact with the adoptive family after
placement; and Receiving ongoing information on the child’s
progress and well-being.
Mothers and fathers who plan adoption for their children
come to this decision from different sets of life
circumstances and with their own unique outlooks and coping
abilities. While each individual’s adjustment realities will
vary, there are some common themes and challenges that
characterize the birthparent experience. The Adoption
Institute identified four critical areas of adjustment that
typically must be mastered in order for birthparents to
integrate what has occurred into their lives without undue
negative long-term consequences:
Resolving the grief that invariably accompanies such a
profound loss;
Making peace with the decision to place a child rather
than to parent;
Incorporating being a birthparent into one’s identity
without lowering self-esteem; and Overcoming adoption’s
impact on intimate relationships.
This report reviews the theoretical and research knowledge
related to each of these areas of adjustment, as well as the
factors that maximize the long-term, positive adjustment of
birthparents.
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Many of the answers to better serving birthparents center on
the quality of the services they receive throughout the
process – during pregnancy, around the time of
relinquishment, and in the years following the adoption.
They need to receive thorough education and preparation on
the social, legal, and psychological issues involved. If
they choose open adoption arrangements, they should be
helped to understand that with benefits come
responsibilities, that is, to their children; they also need
to know they may require assistance to surmount any
obstacles that arise in achieving and continuing workable
arrangements. And, most pointedly, they need to be prepared
for their own emotional adjustment processes, and to be
armed with both knowledge and resources that will enable
them to heal from the losses they almost inevitably will
experience.
Birthparents have reported difficulty in finding counselors
who understand the nature of their losses and their grief.
Mental health professionals generally receive little or no
training related to adoption issues, and there is no body of
literature or research on interventions to assist
birthparents after adoption (Brodzinsky, 1990; Wiley &
Baden, 2005). Addressing this void is a critical step in
serving the needs of birthparents after adoption.
Recommendation 7: Develop a broader array of post-adoption
services to serve birthparents, including counseling or
mediation services to facilitate open-adoption arrangements.
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