A Child to Call My Own - A Study of Adopted Women and Their Experience of Motherhood

Aug 26, 2026

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Research report by the Post Adoption Resource Centre examining how adoption shapes experiences of motherhood among adopted women. The study analyzes two cohorts—adopted women without children and adopted women with children—covering desire for children, fertility expectations, pregnancy and birth experiences, post-natal adjustment, and evolving beliefs about adoption. It also explores impacts on relationships with adoptive and birth parents and outlines future directions, drawing on quantitative questionnaire data and qualitative life-process perspectives.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages66

Reading Time2 h 46 min

AccessFree to download

Foreword

Executive Summary

Introduction and Methodology

The Participants

Findings

Adopted Women With No Children (Questionnaire 1)

Adopted Women With Children (Questionnaire 2)

Future Directions

Conclusion

References

Appendices

A child to call my own the benevolent society post adoption resource centre A study of adopted women and their experience of motherhood Phoebe Masso Victoria Whitfield TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD .............................................................................................................. 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY............................................................................................ 3 INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY .................................................................. 5 THE PARTICIPANTS ............................................................................................... 10 FINDINGS ADOPTED WOMEN WITH NO CHILDREN (QUESTIONNAIRE 1) ......................... 14 Desire to have children ......................................................................................................... 15 Reasons for being without children..................................................................................... 15 Effect of adoption on whether or not to have children ..................................................... 16 The impact on relationships ................................................................................................. 18 Adoptive parents ........................................................................................... 18 Birth parents .................................................................................................. 19 Not having children and the decision to make contact .................................................... 19 ADOPTED WOMEN WITH CHILDREN (QUESTIONNAIRE 2) ............................... 20 How to tell women’s stories? A life process model .......................................................... 20 Stages of the life process ..................................................................................................... 20 Four groups of adopted women with children ................................................................... 21 Decision to have children ..................................................................................................... 22 Expectations of fertility .......................................................................................................... 24 Pregnancy............................................................................................................................... 25 Experiences of birth............................................................................................................... 26 Immediate post-natal period ................................................................................................ 27 Motherhood............................................................................................................................. 30 Adopted women as mothers .......................................................................... 31 Comparing adopted and non-adopted mothers ............................................. 33 Effects of becoming a mother .............................................................................................. 35 How beliefs around adoption have been affected .......................................... 36 The impact on relationships........................................................................... 37 Adoptive parents .......................................................................................... 37 Birth parents ................................................................................................. 38 The changing importance of adoption ................................................................................ 40 Adoption now .....................................................................................40 Adoption in the future.........................................................................41 FUTURE DIRECTIONS .....................................

FAQs

What is the focus of the PARC study?

The study explores adopted women’s experiences of motherhood and how adoption influences decisions, fertility expectations, and parenting-related life stages.

How does the report treat adopted women with and without children?

It separates findings into two questionnaire groups: adopted women without children (including desire and decision-making) and adopted women with children (including pregnancy, birth, and motherhood experiences).

What relationship impacts does the study examine?

It analyzes how adoption affects relationships, including connections with adoptive parents and birth parents, and how the importance of adoption changes over time.

Aug 26, 2026

Upload by Aurelia