The American history behind the The Say So

The heyday for domestic adoption was the mid-20th century. Between 1940 and 1964, the rates of so-called “illegitimate” pregnancy doubled and tripled, from 89,500 in 1940 to 275,700 in 1964. These figures are from the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. (See Bernstein, Rose. “Unmarried Parents,” Encyclopedia of Social Work. issue 5. New York National Association of Social Workers, 1965, p. 797; Shlakman, Vera. “Unmarried Parenthood: An Approach to Social Policy.” Social Casework, vol. 42, October 1966, p. 494).

Middle class Americans kept their pregnancies secret, and schools and companies expelled or fired pregnant women and girls. Thousands became invisible except as statistics in the cautionary pages of Ladies Home Journal and Good Housekeeping. But some 20,000 to 25,000 women were admitted to maternity homes each year. (Bernstein “Unmarried Parents” 798; Solinger Wake Up 103).

Figures vary for the number of adoptions during the postwar decades, since most of them went unrecorded. Within maternity homes, some 80% of women surrendered their children between 1945 and 1970. It’s likely that the same percentages were relinquished among all children born out of wedlock, but records are few. (See Solinger, Rickie. Wake Up Little Susie: Single Pregnancy and Race Before Roe V. Wade, 2nd edition, Routledge, 2000).

According to Solinger, the number of adoptions rose from an estimated 50,000 in 1945 to 91,000 in 1957, up to 175,000 in 1970. The numbers from the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse are much lower, presumably because they reflect only those adoptions documented in writing: according to written records, only 20% of white women with premarital births placed their children for adoption from 1952 to 1972. (See National Adoption Information Clearinghouse, sponsored by US Department of Health and Human Services. Accessed January 7, 2004. Online: www.acf.hhs.gov/index.cfm).

White America considered Blacks and Hispanics unlikely candidates for maternity homes, and most of the adoptions within these groups were off the records. Partly because of the informality of these adoptions, documented relinquishment rates among Latinos, Blacks, and Asian-Americans has remained below two percent throughout US history. (See Pertman, Adam. Adoption Nation, Basic Books, 2000, p. 30).

The postwar percentages of those who engaged in premarital sex (58% of white women and 68% to 90% of white men) are from Kinsey’s studies. (See May, Elaine Tyler. American Families in the Cold War Era, Basic Books, 1988, pp. 120-123).

Historian Rickie Solinger reports that there were some 250,000 to 1.3 million abortions annually in the post-war decades, and Messer and May have recorded many personal accounts. (See Messer, Ellen and Kathryn E. May. Back Rooms: An Oral History of the Illegal Abortion Era. Touchstone, 1989; Solinger, Rickie. Abortion Wars: A Half Century of Struggle, 1950-2000. University of California Press, 1998, p. xi).

Much of the information about birthmothers and maternity homes comes from Rickie Solinger’s two histories and from dozens of personal histories. (See Wake Up Little Susie: Single Pregnancy and Race Before Roe V. Wade. 2nd edition, Routledge, 2000; Beggars and Choosers: How the Politics of Choice Shapes Adoption, Abortion, and Welfare in the United States. Hill & Wang, 2002).

Solinger’s research drew upon sources of the time period, including transcripts of congressional hearings, papers of the Child Welfare League and Family Services Association of America, papers from the Children’s Bureau, papers of the Florence Crittenton Association, articles from professional journals and popular magazines. “What is extraordinary about this collection of sources...is the utter lack of contentiousness among authors within and across fields of expertise. The public and professional discussion of unwed mothers in the postwar era is a case study of the pervasive and persuasive power of consensus in this period which lasted, in the case of unwed mothers, until the early 1960s” (Solinger Wake Up 309).

There are many excellent histories of adoption in America. (For example: Glaser, Gabrielle. American Baby: A Mother, A Child, and the Shadow History of Adoption. Viking, 2021; Melosh, Barbara. Strangers and Kin: the American Way of Adoption. Harvard University Press, 2002; Sokoloff, B. Z. “Antecedents of American Adoption.” The Future of Children: Adoption, vol. 3, no. 1, 1993, pp. 17-25; there are many other sources).

Dozens of birthmothers have allowed themselves to be interviewed and/or have published their own heartfelt memoirs and personal accounts. (See, among others, Arms, Suzanne. Adoption: a Handful of Hope. Celestial Arts, 1990; Barton, Eliza M. Confessions of a Lost Mother. Gateway Press, 1996; Burlingham-Brown, Barbara. Why Didn't She Keep Me? Answers to the Question Every Adopted Child Asks. Langford Books, 1998; Dusky, Lorraine. Birthright. M. Evans & Co., 1979. Fessler, Ann. The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade. The Penguin Press, 2006; Franklin, Lynn. May the Circle Be Unbroken: An Intimate Journey into the Heart of Adoption. Harmony Books, 1998; Guttman, Jane. The Gift Wrapped in Sorrow: A Mother’s Quest for Healing. Morris Publishing, 1999. Harsin, Rebecca. Wanted: First Child. Fithian Press, 1991; Jones, Merry Bloch. Birthmothers: Women Who Have Relinquished Babies for Adoption Tell Their Stories. iUniverse.com., 2000; Jurgens, Louise. Torn From the Heart: The Amazing True Story of a Birthmother’s Search for Her Lost Daughter. Aslan Publishing, 1992; McKay, Linda Back. Shadow Mothers: Stories of Adoption and Reunion. North Star Press of St. Cloud, 1998; McNamara, Sally. Beyond Happily Ever After. Gateway Press, 2000; Messer, Ellen and Kathryn E. May. Back Rooms: An Oral History of the Illegal Abortion Era. Touchstone, 1989; Moorman, Margaret. Waiting to Forget: A Mother Opens the Door to Her Secret Past. W.W. Norton & Company, 1996; Musser, Sandra. I Would Have Searched Forever. Jan Publications, a Division of TM, Inc., 1979; Musser, Sandra. What Kind of Love is This? Jan Publications, a Division of TM, Inc., 1979; Schaefer, Carol. The Other Mother: A Woman's Love for the Child She Gave Up for Adoption. Soho Press, 1991; Seek, Amy. God and Jetfire: Confessions of a Birth Mother. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2015. Taylor, Patricia E. Shadow Train: A Journey Between Relinquishment and Reunion. Gateway Press, 1995; Thompson, Jean (pseudonym) House of Tomorrow. Harper and Row, 1966; Tieman, Carol. A Crying Shame. Sleepy Hollow Press. 1994; Wadia-Ells, Susan, ed. The Adoption Reader: Birth Mothers, Adoptive Mothers, and Adopted Daughters Tell Their Stories. Seal Press Feminist Publications, 1995; Waldron, Jan. Giving Away Simone: A Memoir. Anchor Press, 1998; Wells, Sue. Within Me, Without Me, Scarlet Press. 1994).

In mid-20th century America, professional psychology was coming into its own. Behavioral explanations that credited “nurture” had far more weight than those that credited “nature:” people were considered to be the products of their environments, and could therefore be cured with alternative environments. Mental health professionals were thus charged not only with identifying what was normative behavior, but also with prescribing it. At its worst, psychiatry became a tool for “diagnosing” and “curing” those who did not fit in, including middle-class women with “illegitimate” pregnancies. Like other misfits of the time period, they were examined, deconstructed, reformed, and ultimately reconstructed.

The mental health community believed unwed pregnancy was intentional, an almost conscious act that was a symptom of greater personality disorders. Chance pregnancy seemed too improbable. “Everything points to the purposeful nature of the act,” asserted the field’s most famous specialist. Leontine Young was a theorist and consultant, and for a decade her pamphlet was circulated widely among social workers and maternity home administrators. (See Young, Leontine. Out of Wedlock. McGraw-Hill, 1954).

Mental health professionals agreed with her hypothesis, though they argued over the specific motivations “girls” had for getting themselves pregnant. At the time “misplaced sexuality” in women was blamed for a host of other social ills, including homosexuality in sons, henpecked husbands, and juvenile delinquency. The implication of Young’s theory was that unwed mothers were mentally ill and generally unfit to raise children. By disregarding convention, they had proven they weren’t responsible adults and were de facto unsuitable parents. Thus a young mother’s first step along the path to mental, spiritual, and emotional health was to consciously admit her mistake by giving her baby away. Only then could she move forward to a complete recovery. (See Bernstein, Rose. “Are We Still Stereotyping the Unwed Mother?” Social Work, vol. 5, July 1960, pp. 22-8; Solinger Wake Up 102+).

Midcentury psychiatrists’ held a range of hypotheses about why “intentional” pregnancy occurred, including adolescent maladjustment and narcissism. (See Bonan, Ferdinand A. “Psychoanalytic Implications in Treating Unmarried Mothers with Narcissistic Character Structure.” Social Casework, vol. 44, June 1963, p. 324; Fleck, Stephen. “Pregnancy as a Symptom of Adolescent Maladjustment.” International Journal of Social Psychiatry, vol. 2, Autumn 1956, pp. 676-681; Khlentzos, Michael T. and Mary A Pagliaro. “Observations from Psychotherapy with Unwed Mothers.” American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, vol. 35, July 1965, pp. 779-86).

Psychologists also enlisted Freudian theory to explain intentional pregnancy, in particular the ideas of Oedipal complex and castration complex. (See Clothier, Florence. “Psychological Implications of Unmarried Parenthood.” American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, vol. 13, July 1943, pp. 539-548; Fleck 676-81).

Others thought the problem was parental gender confusion, sometimes referred to as the “Mom wears the pants” theory. (See Cattell, James P. “Psychodynamic and Clinical Observations in a Group of Unmarried Mothers.” American Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 111, November 1954, p. 338).

Popular explanations relied on the “girl who has never been loved” theory: pregnancy as a way to boost self-esteem. (See Fowler, Dan C. “The Problem of Unwed Mothers.” Look, July 29 1949, p. 34; White, Glenn Matthew. “Teenage Illegitimate Pregnancy. Why Does It Happen?” Ladies Home Journal, August 1958).

Psychological research also played an out-sized role in the lives of some adoptees: institutions gave scientists permission to use temporarily un-parented babies as research subjects. Most notoriously, Louise Wise Services in New York City allowed psychiatrists to conduct the infamous “twins separated at birth” experiments. (For more on this kind of experimentation, see Glaser, Gabrielle. American Baby: A Mother, A Child, and the Shadow History of Adoption. Viking, 2021, pp. 106-110.)

Information about coercion and the social pressure to relinquish comes from the dozens of personal accounts listed above as well as from a number of post-relinquishment studies. (See De Simone, Michael. “Birth Mother Loss: Contributing Factors to Unresolved Grief.” Clinical Social Work Journal, vol. 24, 1996, pp. 65-76; Also Kelly, Judy. “The Trauma of Relinquishment: The Long-term Impact of Relinquishment on Birthmothers who Lost their Infants to Adoption during the Years 1965-1972." 1999. online: sites.google.com/site/birthmotherresearchproject; Also Logan, J. “Birth Mothers and Their Mental Health: Uncharted Territory.” British Journal of Social Work, vol. 26, 1996, pp. 609-625; Also Millen, L. and S. Roll. "Solomon's Mothers; a Special Case of Pathological Bereavement." American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, vol. 55, 1985, pp. 411-418; Also Winkler, R.C. and van Keppel, M. Relinquishing Mothers in Adoption: Their Long-Term Adjustment. Monograph 3, Institute of Family Studies, Melbourne, Australia, 1984, pp. 61-68).

During the postwar period, some professional journals suggested techniques that social workers could employ in order to persuade young women to relinquish their children. (See Coffino, Frances. “Helping a Mother Surrender Her Child for Adoption.” Child Welfare, vol. 39, February 1960, pp. 25-8; Also Gray, Paul H. “Conscience, Guilt, and the Unwed Mother.” The Journal of Pastoral Care, vol. 13, 1959, pp. 164-70; Also Latimer, Ruth and Florence Startsman. “The Role of the Maternity Home Social Worker in the Prevention of Illegitimacy.” Mental Hygiene, vol. 47, July 1963, pp. 470-6).

One of the first voices to question the popular diagnosis and treatment of unmarried mothers came from the director of social services at Crittenton Hastings House in Boston, Rose Bernstein. She suspected the studies of unwed mothers were skewed because of the “acute stress” the young mothers were experiencing. Rather than interpreting the symptoms of unwed mothers as a cause, she said, professionals should think of those symptoms as the result. Bernstein suggested that even pregnant married women would look like aberrations if examined at close enough range. She also warned of the “self-fulfilling prophecy” of scientific research: “if scientists expected to see mental illness in unwed mothers, they would be especially sensitive to unusual behaviors, and these would undoubtedly be interpreted as pathologies.” Rose Bernstein’s voice was a lone one. Psychiatrists continued to argue the traditional view for years to come (Bernstein “Are We Still Stereotyping the Unwed Mother?” 23-25).

Women in the poor and working classes often had more sinister experiences. Many lost jobs or couldn’t ask family members for support. They didn’t have the wherewithal to apply and pay for maternity homes. The perceived “value” of a woman’s baby, as well as her socio-economic class (which were dictated largely by race) determined how she would be treated by the rest of the world. For some, a possible solution was to agree to surrender her child in exchange for public assistance. Another option was to work as a domestic servant in exchange for room and board, living in a kind of secret quasi-indentured servitude, or in a private “wage home,” earning money for her medical care while performing services as housekeepers, laundresses, or the like. Hundreds of thousands of others turned, if they could, to their immediate or extended families, who raised the infants as part of their grandparents’ households or who facilitated non-formal open adoptions with other relatives or friends. Black women faced additional bias: especially the idea that they were prone to “fecundity” and should be left to rely on their family’s resources and tolerance. As a result many of these mothers ended up collecting Aid to Dependent Children (Solinger, Rickie. Wake Up, Little Susie. Routledge.2000).

In 1956 the Kefauver committee, which headed a series of congressional hearings investigating the black and gray markets in adoption, reported that some homes’ “services” weren’t services at all. Certain wage homes required so much housework from their residents and fed them so poorly that they actually operated at a healthy profit. Some homes told their residents that if they wanted to keep their babies they would have to pay thousands of dollars in back medical bills and boarding fees to compensate for the inconvenience they had caused by changing their plans. Young women in the Edna Gladney Home in Texas placed their babies with the belief that they had a six month “grace period” in which to change their minds, but found that if they did reconsider, their children were already gone. The Tennessee Children’s Home Society stole more than a thousand infants from poor and unmarried women who had been drugged or duped, then housed those same newborns without medical care, and eventually sold the surviving babies to wealthy patrons. Other mothers in other facilities were told they were placing their children in “temporary care,” only to find that they were gone forever. Revocation periods were not necessarily honored. Once the baby was placed with a family, such clauses were difficult or impossible for young women without legal representation to implement. A social worker could stall until the waiting period had expired. Few unwed mothers knew their rights or how to go about securing them.

Because adoption laws were inadequate, gray market adoptions were legal transactions. There were hundreds of entrepreneurs privately procuring children who could be released to adopting parents in exchange for money, sometimes very large sums of it. Some of them used legitimate means to secure custody of the children in their care; some did not. They arranged adoptions without the help of agencies, and they didn’t have to answer to anyone. They presided over more than a third of the adoptions in the country, seeking out single mothers whose lack of financial and familial support made them most desperate. One Kansas woman housed single mothers in the basement of her home for months at a time, then delivered the babies herself and sold them to the highest bidders. Other independent brokers were driven by ideology, believing they were imposing moral order by transferring babies from irresponsible parents to more deserving ones. There were doctors and lawyers who lured single mothers to their offices and later negotiated for their babies, sometimes bringing to bear the pressure of unpaid medical bills. One Georgia court officer “made children available” by telling mothers that their babies had been born dead. Women who had had twins sometimes never knew there was a second child. Death and birth certificates were forged, records burned. If a contested case ended up in court, some judges who felt morally justified in separating children from “immoral” mothers. (See Solinger Wake Up 32, 170-88; Weinstein, Mary Beth. “Markets, Black and Gray, in Babies.” New York Times Magazine, November 27, 1955, pp. 12+).

THE YEARS AFTER 1963:

By 1963 it was clear that there were seismic shifts in the nation’s culture. The number of “illegitimate” pregnancies in America, at 300,000 plus, could no longer be attributed to individual mental illness. Popular magazines began to surmise that all these pregnancies were the result of something more obvious: an enormous number of young people engaging in premarital sex. The mental illness theories lost popularity, but the adoption practices didn’t change for at least a decade.

In 1970 the number of children released for adoption reached its zenith. As many as 80% of children born to unmarried mothers were put up for adoption. In 1971 did the Supreme Court ruled that single pregnant students could no longer be expelled from school. The end of “the best solution” was nigh, and the entire edifice of belief began to collapse upon itself. Birth control was easier to come by, and in 1973, the women’s rights movement succeeded in legalizing abortion. By the late 1970s, people were more willing to accept the idea of single motherhood, mostly because of the country’s rising divorce rate, which was creating its own culture of single mothers. Also, the sexual revolution of the 1960s had erased the stigma of premarital sex—the term “love child” replaced the words “bastard” and “illegitimate”,” and the term “single parent” replaced the “unwed” label. Women were earning their own incomes, and employers couldn’t fire them as easily as they could in earlier decades. Poor and working-class women became more aware of subsidized day care and other kinds of public assistance.

Adoption agencies were forced to turn to other sources, most notably to other countries, where other laws, social mores, politics, wars, or poverty levels came into play (Solinger Wake Up, Solinger Beggars and Choosers).  

Birthmother depression is well documented, with some studies reporting 40% of women afflicted and some reporting as many as 89%. All studies report depression among a significant percentage of birthmothers in the years following relinquishment. (See Baran, Annette, Reuben Pannor and Arthur Sorosky. "The Lingering Pain of Surrendering a Child." Psychology Today vol. 11, no.1, 1977, pp. 58+; Brodzinsky 295-315, Anne D. “Surrendering an Infant for Adoption: The Birthmother Experience.” The Psychology of Adoption. edited by David M. Brodzinsky and Marshall D. Schechter. Oxford University Press, 1990, p. 305; Condon, J.T. “Psychological Disability in Women who Relinquish a Baby for Adoption.” The Medical Journal of Australia, 1986, vol. 144, no. 3, pp. 117- 119; Davidson, Michelene. “Healing the Birthmother’s Silent Sorrow.” Progress: Family Systems Research and Therapy, vol. 3, Phillips Graduate Institute. 1994, pp. 69-89; Davis, C.E. “Separation Loss in Relinquishing Birthmothers.” The International Journal of Psychiatric Nursing Research, vol. 1, no. 2, 1994, pp. 63-64; De Simone 65-76; Deykin, E.Y, L. Campbell, and P. Patti "The Post-Adoption Experience of Surrendering Parents." American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, vol. 54, no. 2, April 1984, pp. 271-280; Logan 609-625; Millen and Roll 411-418; Sorosky, Baran, and Pannor. The Adoption Triangle. Anchor Books, 1984, p. 56; Weinreb, M. and V. Konstam. “Birthmothers: A Retrospective Analysis of the Surrendering Experience.” Psychotherapy in Private Practice, vol. 15, no. 1, 1996, pp. 59-70; Winkler and van Keppel 59).

Birthmothers also report being enraged at the common assumption that they would forget their children and enraged again to find out later that their children were treated as commodities (Solinger Beggars 77).

Many researchers have written about the detrimental effects of secrecy upon birthmothers’ ability to heal. (See Brodzinsky 295-315; Condon 117- 119; Davis 63-4; De Simone; Deykin, et al. 271-280; Jones; Kelly; Lauderdale, Millen and Roll 411-418; Rynearson 338-40; Sorosky et al. pp 54-58; Weinreb and Konstam 59-70; Winkler and van Keppel 61. Also Jana L. and Joyceen S. Boyle. “Infant Relinquishment Through Adoption.” IMAGE: Journal of Nursing Scholarship, vol. 26, no. 3, Fall 1994, pp. 213-217; Wells, Susan. “What do Birth Parents Want?” Adoption and Fostering, vol. 17, no. 4, 1993, pp. 20-26.)

Many birthmothers report feeling as if they have lost a limb (Sorosky et al. 56; Condon 117- 119; Lauderdale and Boyle 213-217; Rynearson 338-40).

At least one research team has compared the experience of relinquishing a child to that of losing a child in perinatal death. They also described the unresolved nature of birthmother grief and its uniquely problematic effects, including “an increasing sense of loss” over time (Winkler and van Keppel 69-71). Another compared the birthmother state of suspended grief to grief for servicemen missing in action (Condon 117- 119). Others have written extensively about the lack of closure. (See Davis 63-4; De Simone 65-76; Wells “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Birthmothers” 30-32. Also Stiffler L. H. "Adoption's Impact on Birthmothers: 'Can a Mother Forget her Child?'" Journal of Psychology and Christianity, vol. 10, no. 3, 1991, pp. 249-259.)

Pathological guilt is sometimes a component of birthmother depression (Davidson 69-89; Jones; Logan 609-625; Wells “Post-traumatic Stress Disorder” 30-32).

Some birthmothers suffered health problems as a result of prolonged grief, including recurrent gynecologic infections and sexual difficulties. Likewise, a high percentage of women, as many as 34%, did not have other children, in some cases due to secondary infertility (Condon 117- 119; Millen and Roll 411-418; and Rynearson 338-40; De Simone 69; Deykin et al. 271-280).

Other women became overprotective mothers when their subsequent children were born (Condon 117- 119; Deykin et al. 271-280; Jones 2000; Rynearson 338-40).

Most studies of grieving birthmothers report that, while almost all mothers mourned, there were some women who reported being “comfortable” with their decisions, perhaps 30%. (Sorosky et al. 56; Kelly). Winkler and van Keppel’s thorough study reports a bell curve with a “normal distribution of outcomes” (Winkler and van Keppel 69-72).

The more control birthmothers have in the adoption process, the less likely they are to regret and grieve their decisions. Many studies correlate birthmothers’ lack of agency with their trauma. One researcher wrote that “depression is linked to the experience of helplessness, of the feeling that one has little, if any, control over the events (especially negative events) in one’s life” (Brodzinsky 305). Other research supports these findings. (See Chippindale-Bakker, Victoria and Linda Foster. “Adoption in the 1990's: Sociodemographic Determinants of Biological Parents Choosing Adoption.” Child Welfare, vol. 75, no. 4, July/August 1996, pp. 337-356; Cushman, Linda F. and Debra Kalmuss and Pearla Brickner Namerow. “Openness in Adoption: Experiences and Social Psychological Outcomes Among Birth Mothers.” Marriage and Family Review, vol. 25, no. 1-2, 1997, pp. 7-19; Davis 63-64; De Simone 65; Rynearson 338-40).

One study proposed two portraits of birthmothers: The first portrait they called “the reluctant giver” and characterized as a woman who felt her parents or society had made her decisions for her. She felt that her baby had been stolen from her and suffered more shame and more grief because of it. Fantasies and fears about the missing child prolonged the mourning: was the child alive or dead, healthy or diseased, loved or neglected? This birthmother had no way to grieve in public, partly because she couldn’t share the experience and partly because other people considered her loss insignificant. The second group researchers characterized as “grateful givers,” and these women exercised more power. They felt they had choices. These women took part in the selection of the adoptive parents and had either direct or indirect communication with them. They also had some kind of control over the hospital experience and were supported by their parents and friends. They believed they were “giving a gift.” They grieved for the loss of their children, but were able to move on with their lives (Lauderdale and Boyle 216).

SEARCHING:

Most birthmothers would like to know about the wellbeing of the children they relinquished, though many don’t feel they have the right to know. Birthmothers who do contact their offspring usually wait until their children have become adults, and few have the goal of “reclaiming” their lost children or breaking up families (Deykin et al. 274). Susan Wells found that 96% of the New Zealand women she surveyed would like to be “found,” and only that nine of the 262 wanted to preserve secrecy (Wells “What Do Birthparents Want?” 22-26).

Studies of adoptees show that 65-89% percent would like contact with their biological parents, and are more inclined to want contact as they age (Pertman 130). Some states allow adoptees access to their original birth certificates, with or without court orders or other restrictions. Children adopted from other countries face a host of other identity questions. If they wish to find their origins, they often face daunting searches.

BIRTHMOTHERS IN RECENT DECADES:

In recent decades healthcare journals have encouraged medical professionals to give birthmothers as much control over the adoption process as they can. The more agency mothers have in the decision, the easier it seems to be to accept those decisions without regret and blame. Likewise some states now stipulate that mothers cannot be under the influence of delivery room medications when they sign away their rights to their children.

Birthmother empowerment is also a feature of open adoption. In such arrangements, birthmothers may have a role in choosing a child’s parents, or they may have absolute choice. They may receive a profile of the parents or meet them and visit their home. They may receive unaddressed mail or have full disclosure of address. They may be updated occasionally or have regular visits to the adopting parents’ home. There have been many studies of open versus closed adoption. (Considered for this book were: Sykes, Margaret R. “Adoption with Contact: A study of Adoptive Parents and the Impact of Continuing Contact With Families of Origin.” Journal of Family Therapy, vol. 23, 2001, pp. 296-316; Blanton, T.L. and J. Deschner. “Biological Mothers’ Grief: The Postadoptive Experience in Open Versus Confidential Adoption.” Child Welfare: 69.6, Nov/Dec 1990, pp. 525-536. There are many more updated ones.) Or you can read the many personal narratives comparing open versus closed adoption (Arms 1990; Wells Within Me 1994). For current state laws on adoption records, see Adoptee Rights Law Center (adopteerightslaw.com/united-states-obc/).

CHOOSING ADOPTION TODAY:

Why do some women choose adoption in the post Roe v. Wade era? The available research tends to focus upon why some mothers choose relinquishment and others choose to keep their children. Few studies examine why some women choose adoption over abortion. In 1978, the most frequently cited reason birthmothers relinquished their children rather than keeping them was that they wanted them to have two parents. (See Pannor, Ruben, Annette Baran, Arthur D. Sorosky "Birth Parents Who Relinquish Babies for Adoption Revisited." Family Process, vol. 17, no. 3, September 1978, pp. 329-37. See also Chippindale-Bakker and Foster 337-356; Donnelly, B.W. and P. Voydanoff. “Factors Associated with Releasing for Adoption Among Adolescent Mothers,” Family Relations, vol. 40, 1991, pp. 404-5; Leynes, Cynthia. "Factors Influencing the Decision to Keep or Relinquish One's Child." Child Psychiatry and Human Development, vol. 11, Winter 1980, pp. 105-112; National Adoption Information Clearinghouse, sponsored by the US Department of Health and Human Services at naic.acf.hhs.gov/index.cfm).

Adams, Clifford R. “Can You Control Your Daughter?” Ladies’ Home Journal, December 1956, pp. 45+. Dr. Adams, a PhD in psychology, was a professor at Pennsylvania State University.

Adams, Clifford R. “Unwed Mother.” Ladies’ Home Journal, February 1962, pp. 46+. Dr. Adams, a PhD in psychology, was a professor at Pennsylvania State University.

Adams, Hannah M. “Two Studies of Unmarried Mothers in New York City.” Children, vol. 8, September-October 1961, pp. 184-8. Hannah Adams was a research analyst with the Children’s Bureau.

Adoptee Rights Law Center, part of the New York Adoptee Rights Coalition, a group committed to enactment of New York legislation for unrestricted original birth certificates. 2021. adopteerightslaw.com/united-states-obc/

Allen, Mary Louise, as told to Eleanor Harris. “What Can We Do About America’s Unwed Teenage Mothers?” McCall’s, November 1963, pp. 40+. Mary Louise Allen was Executive Director of the Florence Crittenton Association of America, Inc., representing 47 homes in 30 states.

Anderson, Carole and Lee Campbell, with Mary Anne Cohen. “Adoption Abuse.” Womenwise, vol. 5.3, Fall 1983. Written by two founders of Concerned United Birthparents, this article was one of the first to question assumptions about birthmothers and about adoption.

Arms, Suzanne. Adoption: a Handful of Hope. Celestial Arts, 1990. The author uses anecdotal accounts of triad members to compare open independent adoptions, which she portrays as deliberate and dignified, to closed agency adoptions. This book is a revised and expanded version of her earlier book, To Love and Let Go.

Askren, H.A and K.C. Bloom “Postadoptive Reactions of the Relinquishing Mother: A Review.” Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing 28.4. July-August 1999, 395-400. The authors review the available studies on birthmothers.

Bailey, Beth. From Front Porch to Back Seat: Courtship in Twentieth-Century America. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1988. This history of dating compares especially the practice of “dating and rating” in the twenties and thirties to the practice of “going steady”.

Baran, Annette, Reuben Pannor and Arthur Sorosky, "The Lingering Pain of Surrendering a Child," Psychology Today 11.1, 1977, pp. 58+. Perhaps the first article on the subject to be published in a popular magazine, the article’s point is that birthmothers never stop missing their children.

Barton, Elisa M. Confessions of a Lost Mother. Gateway Press. 1996. Excerpts from a listserve for triad members.

Bernstein, Rose, "Are We Still Stereotyping the Unmarried Mother?" Social Work 5, July 1960, pp. 22-8.

Bernstein, Rose. “Gaps in Services to Unmarried Mothers.” Children 10, March-April, 1963, pp. 49-54.

Bernstein, Rose. “The Maternal Role in the Treatment of Unmarried Mothers.” Social Work 8, January 1963, pp. 58.

Bernstein, Rose. “Unmarried Parents.” Encyclopedia of Social Work, issue 15, New York National Association of Social Workers, 1965, pp. 797-801.

Blanton, T.L. and J. Deschner. “Biological Mothers’ Grief: The Postadoptive Experience in Open Versus Confidential Adoption.” Child Welfare: 69.6, Nov/Dec 1990, pp. 525-536. This study of 59 women compares the reactions of birthmothers in open versus closed adoption

Bonan, Ferdinand. “Psychoanalytic Implications in Treating Unmarried Mothers with Narcissistic Characteristic Structure.” Social Casework, vol. 44, June 1963, pp. 323-5. Dr. Bonan was consulting psychiatrist for the Children’s Aid Society of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Boole, Lucille. The Hospital and Unmarried Mothers.” Children, vol. 3, November-December 1956, pp. 208-12. Boole was principal medical social worker with the social service department of University of California Medical Center, San Francisco.

Boston Women’s Health Collective. The New Our Bodies Our Selves. Simon & Schuster. 1986.

Breines, Wini. Young, White, and Miserable: Growing up Female and Miserable in the Fifties. The University of Chicago Press. 1992. This social history incorporates references to fictional and memoir sources.

Brodzinsky, Anne D. “Surrendering an Infant for Adoption: The Birthmother Experience,” The Psychology of Adoption, ed. David M. Brodzinsky and Marshall D. Schechter. Oxford University Press, 1990, pp. 295-315.

Burgess, Linda Cannon. The Art of Adoption. W.W. Norton and Company. 1976. Written by an adoption social worker who has since retired from the field, this book provides a broad, though dated, look at the institution, with a certain emphasis upon the importance of the social worker’s role.

Burlingham-Brown, Barbara. Why Didn't She Keep Me? Answers to the Question Every Adopted Child Asks. Langford Books. 1998. A collection of birthmother accounts.

Cattell, James P. “Psychodynamic and Clinical Observations in a Group of Unmarried Mothers.” American Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 111, November 1954, pp. 337-42. Dr. Cattell was a psychiatrist with the New York State Psychiatric Institute.

Chapman, C., P. Dorner, K. Silber, T. W. Winterberg. "Meeting the Needs of the Adoption Triangle Through Open Adoption: the Birthmother." Child and Adolescent Social Work, vol. 3, no. 4, Winter, 1986, pp. 203-213. The authors, who are counselors and professionals in the field of adoption, advocate open adoption as a way to facilitate appropriate grieving for birthmothers.

Child Welfare Information Gateway, a service of the Children’s Bureau, US Department of Health and Human Services. 2021. childwelfare.gov/ Accessed Dec 6, 2021.

Child Welfare League of America. Saying Goodbye to a Baby: the Birthparent’s Guide to Loss and Grief in Adoption. Child Welfare League of America. November 1989.

Child Welfare League of America. Standards for Services to Unmarried Parents. Child Welfare League of America. 1960. This pamphlet consists of a list of government recommendations for standards in maternity homes.

Chippindale-Bakker, Victoria and Linda Foster. “Adoption in the 1990's: Sociodemographic Determinants of Biological Parents Choosing Adoption”. Child Welfare, vol. 75, no. 4, July/August 96, pp. 337-356. This Canadian study looks at 99 women who relinquished between 1989 and 1994 and finds that race and the relationship with parents are factors in adoption decision-making.

Clothier, Florence. “Psychological Implications of Unmarried Parenthood.” American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, vol. 13, July 1943, pp. 531-49. Dr. Clothier was a psychiatrist with the New England Home for Little Wanderers in Boston.

Coffino, Frances. “Helping a Mother Surrender Her Child for Adoption.” Child Welfare, vol. 39, February 1960, pp. 15-8. The author explains “how a parent can be enabled to surrender her child through skillful casework that recognizes her needs as well as the child’s.” 

Condon, J.T. “Psychological Disability in Women who Relinquish a Baby for Adoption.” The Medical Journal of Australia, vol. 144, no. 3, 1986, pp. 117- 119. This Australian study examined 20 women from a support group; they relinquished their children between 1950 and 1980.

Curtis, Hester, and Alberta de Ronge. “Medical and Social Care for the Unmarried Mother.” Children, vol. 4, September-October 1957, pp. 174-80. Dr. Curtis was a physician and Ms. DeRonge an MSW Consultant with the Bureau of Maternal and Child Hygiene of the Connecticut State Department of Health.

Cushman, Linda F. Debra Kalmuss and, Namerow, Pearla Brickner. “Openness in Adoption: Experiences and Social Psychological Outcomes Among Birth Mothers.” Marriage and Family Review, vol. 25, no. 1-2, 1997, pp. 7-19. Professors of public health at Columbia University follow the four-year post-relinquishment reactions of 171 adolescent birthmothers.

Davidson, Michelene. “Healing the Birthmother’s Silent Sorrow.” Progress: Family Systems Research and Therapy, vol. 3, 1994, pp. 69-89. Phillips Graduate Institute. Davidson interviewed ten women who volunteered for her study and who had relinquished before 1984. Birthmothers struggle with low self-esteem and more.

Davis, C.E. “Separation Loss in Relinquishing Birthmothers.” The International Journal of Psychiatric Nursing Research, 1994, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 63-64

De Simone, Michael. “Birth Mother Loss: Contributing Factors to Unresolved Grief.” Clinical Social Work Journal, vol. 24, 1996, pp. 65-76. Dr. De Simone worked with 264 women and found that higher levels of grief were associated with the birthmother’s perception that she was coerced into relinquishment by others and with higher levels of guilt and shame during relinquishment.

Deykin, E.Y.; L. Campbell, and P. Patti. "The Post-Adoption Experience of Surrendering Parents." American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, vol. 54, no. 2, April 1984, pp. 171-280. Deykin, a doctor of public health at Harvard University School of Public Health, studied members of CUB in 1980, most of whom relinquished their children before 1973. The surrender had a protracted negative influence on their lives in the areas of marriage, fertility, and parenting.

Donnelly, B.W. and P. Voydanoff. “Factors Associated with Releasing for Adoption Among Adolescent Mothers,” Family Relations, vol. 40, 1991, pp. 404-410. The researchers with University of Dayton looked at 177 adolescents to determine why some chose relinquishment and others didn’t. They say demographic characteristics and perceived alternatives to early childbearing are the strongest discriminators between those who keep and those who relinquish.

Dusky, Lorraine. Birthright. M. Evans & Co., 1979. Dusky relinquished her child in 1966, for career reasons.

Ehrenreich, Barbara and English, Deirdre. For Her Own Good: 150 Years of Experts’ Advice to Women. Doubleday. 1987. This text examines gender roles during periods of American history.

National Center on Adoption and Permanency [formerly Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute], Online: www.nationalcenteronadoptionandpermanency.net/ Accessed Dec 6, 2021.

Fessler, Ann. The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade. The Penguin Press. 2006.

Fleck, Stephen. “Pregnancy As a Symptom of Adolescent Maladjustment.” International Journal of Social Psychiatry, vol. 2, Autumn 1956, pp. 676-81. Dr. Fleck was a psychiatrist with the University of Washington.

Foge, Leslie. Third Choice: A Woman’s Guide to Placing A Child for Adoption. Creative Arts Book Company. 1999. Well-reviewed, this book is aimed at prospective birthmothers and includes advice about how to handle conflicting emotions.

Fowler, Dan C. “The Problem of Unwed Mothers.” Look, July 29, 1949, pp. 30+.

Franklin, Lynn. May the Circle Be Unbroken: An Intimate Journey Into the Heart of Adoption. Harmony Books. 1998. Franklin’s own account of relinquishing her child in the 60’s is interwoven with a discussion on current adoption issues. She is an advocate for open adoption.

Friedman, Helen. The Mother-Daughter Relationship: Its Potential in Treatment of the Young Unwed Mother.” Social Casework, vol. 42, October 1966, pp. 502-6. Friedman was Director of Casework at the Crittenton-Hastings House in Boston.

Futterman, Samuel, and Jean Livermore. “Putative Father.” Journal of Social Casework, vol. 28, May, 1947, pp. 174-8. Dr. Futterman was Chief Psychiatrist and Miss Livermore was Psychiatric Social Worker in the Mental Hygiene Clinic of the Veterans Administration in Los Angeles.

Gianakon, Harry G. “Ego Factors in the Separation of Unwed Mother and Child.” Casework Papers. Family Service Association of America, 1960, pp. 58-64. A physician, Gianakon gives hypotheses about why mothers don’t want to relinquish their children.

Glaser, Gabrielle. American Baby: A Mother, A Child, and the Shadow History of Adoption. Viking, 2021.

Gray, Paul H. “Conscience, Guilt, and the Unwed Mother.” The Journal of Pastoral Care, vol. 13, 1959, pp. 164-70. Dr. Gray was a consulting psychiatrist of the Florence Crittenton Home in Washington D.C.

Greenwood, S. “Pregnant Bodies and Rational Parenthood.” In The Dynamics of Adoption, edited by Amal Treacher and Ilan Katz. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2000, pp. 167-180. The author is a psychologist and birthmother at Waikato Polytechnic in New Zealand.

Guttman, Jane. The Gift Wrapped in Sorrow: A Mother’s Quest for Healing. Kearny, Nebraska: Morris Publishing. 1999. The author was a birthmother who surrendered in 1963 because she had no other choices.

Harsin, Rebecca. Wanted: First Child. Santa Barbara: Fithian Press. 1991. This mother relinquished her child against her will in 1970.

Hoopes, Janet L. “Adoption and Identity Formation.” In The Psychology of Adoption, edited by David M. Brodzinsky and Marshall D. Schechter. Oxford University Press. 1990, pp. 144-166.

Jones, Merry Bloch. Birthmothers: Women Who Have Relinquished Babies for Adoption Tell Their Stories. iUniverse.com. Inc. 2000. Based on an informal study comprised of a survey of hundreds of self-selected participants and more than 70 interviews, Jones paints a composite portrait of birthmothers.

Jurgens, Louise. Torn From the Heart: The Amazing True Story of a Birthmother’s Search for Her Lost Daughter. Aslan Publishing, 1992.

Kelly, Judy. “The Trauma of Relinquishment: The Long-term Impact of Relinquishment on Birthmothers who Lost their Infants to Adoption during the Years 1965-1972." 1999. Formerly online: home.att.net/~judy.kelly/thesis.htm]. Accessed January 15, 2004. Now online: sites.google.com/site/birthmotherresearchproject. This project, which began as a master’s thesis, examined 79 self-selected birthmothers from a period in the late 60s.

Khlentzos, Michael T. and Mary A. Pagliaro. “Observations from Psychotherapy with Unwed Mothers.” American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, vol. 35. July 1965, pp. 779-86. Dr. Khlentzos was a psychiatrist and Mary Pagliaro an MSW at the McAuley Neuropsychiatric Institute of St. Mary’s Hospital in San Francisco.

Latimer, Ruth, and Florence Startsman. “The Role of the Maternity Home Social Worker in the Prevention of Illegitimacy.” Mental Hygiene, vol. 47, July 1963, pp. 470-6. Both authors worked were social workers who worked with unwed mothers, Ms. Startsman at Maple Knoll Hospital and Home in Cincinnati and Ms. Latimer as the supervisor at Social Welfare Research, Inc., in Cincinnati.

Lauderdale, Jana and Joyceen Boyle. “Infant Relinquishment Through Adoption.” IMAGE: Journal of Nursing Scholarship, vol. 26. 1994, pp. 113-217. This study, based upon 12 women, provides two portraits of birthmothers, “The Grateful Giver” and “The Reluctant Giver.” Both of the authors are nurses and nursing professors.

Leynes, Cynthia. "Factors Influencing the Decision to Keep or Relinquish One's Child." Child Psychiatry and Human Development, vol. 11, Winter 1980, pp. 105-112. Dr. Leynes of the Department of Psychiatry, University of the Philippines, examined birthmother records from 1976-1978 at a Salvation Army maternity home. She concludes that the women who kept their children were those least equipped to be mothers.

Lifton, Betty Jean. The Journey of the Adopted Self: A Quest for Wholeness. Basic Books, 1994. Well-known researcher, counselor and writer Dr. Betty Jean Lifton describes the identity issues that adoptees face.

Logan, J. “Birth Mothers and Their Mental Health: Uncharted Territory.” British Journal of Social Work, vol. 26, 1996, pp. 609-625. A lecturer in social work at the University of Manchester, Janette Logan studied 28 women who had relinquished mostly between 1970 and 1980 and who were selected from a larger pool of women who sought postpartum services. Logan found higher levels of depression among these birthmothers than among other mothers.

Concerned United Birthparents, Inc. 2021. Online: cubirthparents.org. Accessed December 6, 2021.

Mander, Rosemary. “Midwifery Care of the Grieving Mother, How the Decisions are Made.” Midwifery, vol. 7, 1991, pp. 133-142.

Martin, Cynthia D. and Dru Martin Groves. Beating the Odds: Using Your Head and Your Heart to Adopt. Harcourt Brace & Company. Teaches would-be adopters the fundamentals of independent adoption, including how to seek out mothers considering relinquishing their children.

May, Elaine Tyler. American Families in the Cold War Era. New York: Basic Books, Inc. 1988. May says that the fifties were a period of political “containment” that was closely linked with the “containment” of social forces as well: race unrest, female power, etc. Political insecurity led to a retreat into family life.

McKay, Linda Back. Shadow Mothers: Stories of Adoption and Reunion. North Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc. 1998. Individual stories of women who relinquished in the years 1952-1965.

McNamara, Sally. Beyond Happily Ever After. Gateway Press. 2000. The author was forced to relinquish her child against her will in 1957, but her memoir focuses on the difficulties of reunion.

Medina, L.M. and L. Medina. “The Physician’s Responsibility in Adoption, Part 1: Caring for the Birthmother.” The Journal of the American Board of Family Practice, vol 1, 1988, pp. 50-54.

Melosh, Barbara. Strangers and Kin: the American Way of Adoption. Harvard University Press, 2002. A historian and adoptive mother, Melosh examines the history of adoption mostly through the lens of social workers. By thoroughly examining and comparing records from the Children’s Bureau of Delaware that span the whole century, she composes a portrait of social work and social policy that is excruciatingly cautious and well-intentioned, though often self-important and typically subject to the biases of its day.

Messer, Ellen and Kathryn May. Back Rooms: An Oral History of the Illegal Abortion Era. New York: Touchstone, 1989. The editors collected personal histories from women who had abortions in the years before Roes versus Wade.

Meyer, Henry J., Edgar F. Borgatta, and David Fanshel. “Unwed Mothers’ Decisions About Their Babies; An Interim Replication Study.” Child Welfare, vol. 38, February 1959, pp. 5-6. According to Solinger, these authors originated the adoption “mandate.” Meyer was a professor at the University of Michigan, Borgatta a psychologist, and Fanshel the Director of Research at the Child Welfare League of America. This study looks at a small group of unwed mothers to try to find common denominators for their decisions to keep or relinquish.

Millen, L. and S. Roll. "Solomon's Mothers; a Special Case of Pathological Bereavement." American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, vol. 55, 1985, pp. 411-418. The authors, PhDs and professors at New Mexico State University and University of New Mexico, studied 22 birthmothers who were already in psychotherapy. They found that, for these women, the bereavement process was distorted and delayed.

Miller, Douglas T., and Marion Nowak. The Fifties: the Way We Really Were. Garden City, Doubleday, 1977. These authors criticize the rosy picture of the period, characterizing it as a time of repression and fear.

Moorman, Margaret. Waiting to Forget: A Mother Opens the Door to Her Secret Past. W.W. Norton & Company. 1996. Moorman relinquished her son in 1965, at the age of fifteen. The book explores that decision twenty five years later, putting it in the context of adoption history and practice.

Musser, Sandra. I Would Have Searched Forever. Jan Publications, a Division of TM, Inc., 1979. Musser reflects on her own experience of relinquishing in 1954, also on upon adoption in general.

Musser, Sandra. What Kind of Love is This? Jan Publications, a Division of TM, Inc., 1979. The author, a Christian birthmother and one of the first birthmothers to bring that group into the adoption reform movement, writes a series of essays on the topic.

National Adoption Information Clearinghouse, sponsored by US Department of Health and Human Services. Online: naic.acf.hhs.gov/index.cfm. Accessed January 7, 2004. Now unavailable.

National Council for Adoption. 2020. Now online: adoptioncouncil.org/ncfa-conference/. Accessed December 6, 2021.

National Council of Birthmothers. Formerly online: geocities.com/CapitolHill/Congress/5558/. Accessed March 20, 2004. Now unavailable.

Not Wanted (film). Directed by Elmer Clifton and Ida Lupino. Written by Paul Jarrico and Ida Lupino. Starring Sally Forrest. 1949.

Nowak, Marion. “How to Be a Woman: Theories of Female Education in the 1950's.” Journal of Popular Culture, vol. 9, Summer 1975, pp. 77-83.

Oakley, Ronald J. God’s Country: America in the Fifties. Dembner Books, 1986. This history chronicles the politics and social attitudes of the decade, breaking it down into three distinct periods.

Origins USA. Origins USA: A national organization of birthmothers internationally affiliated with Origins Inc. (NSW Australia). 2006-7. Online: originsinc.com/. Accessed Dec. 6, 2021.

Pannor, R., A. Baran, and Arthur D. Sorosky. "Birth Parents Who Relinquish Babies for Adoption Revisited." FamilyProcess, vol. 17, no. 3, September, 1978, pp. 329-37. Pannor and Baran hold MSWs and Sorosky holds an MD. These authors interviewed 36 women who volunteered for their study and had relinquished between 1945 and 1976. The majority still experienced feelings of grief and loss.

Pearson, John S., and Phyllis L. Amacher. “Intelligence Test Results and Observations of Personality Disorder Among 3,594 Unwed Mothers in Minnesota.” Journal of Clinical Psychology, vol. 12. January 1956, pp. 16-21. The authors are two researchers with the Minnesota Department of Public Welfare in Rochester, Minnesota.

Peril, Lynn. Pink Think: Becoming a Woman in Many Uneasy Lessons. W.W. Norton and Company. 2002. This social history focuses on the trappings—clothing, toys, instructional manuals—that helped shape the attitudes of women from the 1950s through the 1970s.

Pertman, Adam. Adoption Nation. Basic Books, 2000. Perhaps one of the best general books on adoption, Pertman’s overview provides a balanced look at adoption from the perspective of all parties involved.

Roles, Patricia. Saying Goodbye to a Baby: the Birthparent’s Guide to Loss and Grief in Adoption. Child Welfare League of America, 1989. The author is a birth mother and social worker and gives her readers practical advice about how to prepare for and manage relinquishment.

Romanchik, Brenda. Birthparent Grief. Published by Brenda Romanchik, 1999. This pamphlet, written by a woman who relinquished her son in open adoption, attempts to help its readers define the grieving process.

Rosenberg, Elinor B. The Adoption Life Cycle: The Children and Their Families Through the Years. Free Press, 1992. A social worker in the field of adoption, Rosenberg bases her conclusions about the insecurities of birth and adoptive parents on a series of interviews in 45 homes. She describes the problems adoptees have with their unknown heritage and describes the “developmental tasks” of each group.

Rosenman, A.S., JD. “Babies Jessica, Richard, and Emily: The Need for Legislative Reform of Adoption Laws,” Chicago-Kent Law Review, vol. 70, 1995, pp. 1851-1895.

Rynearson, Edward K. "Relinquishment and its Maternal Complications: a Preliminary Study." American Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 139, no. 3, March 1982, pp. 338-40. Dr. Rynearson, psychiatrist, reported on some common themes (depression, unresolved grief, low self-esteem) he noted of 20 birthmothers who had sought his treatment for other issues. Most of these women probably relinquished between 1950 and 1971.

Schaefer, Carol. The Other Mother: A Woman's Love for the Child She Gave Up for Adoption. Soho Press, 1991. One of the most popular of the genre, this birthmother memoir recounts a relinquishment in 1965 and a rewarding reunion.

Schauffler, Goodrich C. “Today It Could Be Your Daughter.” Ladies’ Home Journal, January 1958, pp. 43+. Dr. Schauffler was a Harvard-educated gynecologist.

Seek, Amy. God and Jetfire: Confessions of a Birth Mother. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. 2015.

Shlakman, Vera. “Unmarried Parenthood: An Approach to Social Policy.” Social Casework, vol. 42. October 1966, pp. 494-501. Vera Shlakman, Ph.D., was Associate Professor at Columbia University School of Social Work in New York City.

Sokoloff, B.Z. Antecedents of American Adoption,” The Future of Children: Adoption, vol. 3, no. 1, 1993, pp. 17-25. Dr. Sokoloff is a pediatrician in Los Angeles.

Solinger, Rickie, editor. Abortion Wars. Solinger, Rickie, editor. Abortion Wars: A Half Century of Struggle, 1950-2000. University of California Press. 1998.

Solinger, Rickie. Beggars and Choosers: How the Politics of Choice Shapes Adoption, Abortion, and Welfare in the United States. Hill & Wang. 2002. Solinger examines federal policy aimed at women’s reproductive rights.

Soll, Joe. Adoption Healing: A Path to Recovery. Gateway Press, 2000. The author, a psychologist and adoptee, describes practical steps and activities to adoptees and birthmothers, whom, he maintains, are inevitably damaged by adoption.

Sorosky, Baran, and Pannor. The Adoption Triangle. Anchor Books, 1984. This team of authors jumpstarted the adoption reform movement with their portrait of adoption as an institution damaging to adoptees and birthmothers alike. The authors were the first notable voices to call for open adoption.

Stiffler, L.H. "Adoption's Impact on Birthmothers: 'Can a Mother Forget her Child?'" Journal of Psychology and Christianity, vol. 10, no. 3, 1991, pp. 149-259. Stiffler, a PhD in Behavioral Science/Counseling, reviews existing data, portraying birthmothers as deeply hurt.

Sykes, Margaret R. “Adoption with Contact: A study of Adoptive Parents and the Impact of Continuing Contact With Families of Origin.” Journal of Family Therapy, vol. 23, 2001, pp. 296-316. The author is a family therapist in England. Her study indicates that open adoptions give parents a more empathic view of birthmothers, but that there are emotional costs to the adoptive mother.

Taylor, Patricia E. Shadow Train: A Journey Between Relinquishment and Reunion. Gateway Press, 1995. Much to her regret, Taylor relinquished her child in 1961.

The Guttmacher Institute (formerly Alan Guttmacher Institute), a nonprofit organization. 2021. On-line: guttmacher.org/. Accessed Dec. 6, 2021.

Thompson, Jean (pseudonym). House of Tomorrow. Harper and Row, 1966. The author was a college student who relinquished her baby in the early 60’s. This memoir is unique in that it is based upon journal entries written during and after the pregnancy. It is one of the few records made during the experience rather than in hindsight.

Tieman, Carol J. A Crying Shame. Sleepy Hollow Press. 1994. The author was forced to surrender her son in 1966.

Triseliotis, John. “Identity-Formation and the Adopted Person, Revisited.” In The Dynamics of Adoption, edited by Amal Treacher and Ilan Katz. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2000. The author is an emeritus professor at the University of Edinburgh. 81-98.

Unknown Author. “Guide for Collaboration of Physician, Social Worker and Lawyer in Helping the Unmarried Mother and Her Child.” Children, vol. 14, May-June 1967, pp. 111-2

Verrier, Nancy Newton. The Primal Wound: Understanding the Adopted Child. Gateway Press, 1993. An adoptive mother and psychotherapist garners anecdotal evidence to examine the ways in which adopted children suffer from issues of abandonment.

Vetter, Marjorie and Laura Vitray. The Questions Girls Ask. E.P. Dutton and Company, 1959. This book was written in response to a national survey of girls aged 11-18, and commissioned by the Girls Scouts of America through the University of Michigan.

Vincent, Clark. “The Adoption Market and the Unwed Mother’s Baby.”‘ Marriage and Family Living, vol. 18, May 1956, pp. 124-7. Clark Vincent was a researcher with the University of California.

Vincent, Clark. “Unwed Mothers and the Adoption Market: Psychological and Familial Factors.” Marriage and Family Living, vol. 22, May 1960, pp. 112-118. Clark Vincent was a researcher with the State University of Iowa. This paper is part of a larger study financed by the Rosenberg Foundation of San Francisco and the University of California at Berkeley.

Wadia-Ells, Susan, ed. The Adoption Reader: Birth Mothers, Adoptive Mothers, and Adopted Daughters Tell Their Stories. Seal Press Feminist Publications, 1995. This collection from all three members of the triad distinguishes itself by the quality of its authorship.

Waldron, Jan. Giving Away Simone: A Memoir. Anchor Press, 1998. This author’s account of relinquishment in the 1960s is unusual in that she neither regrets her relinquishment nor claims to have a wonderful reunion.

Watson, Kenneth W. "Birth Families: Living With the Adoption Decision." Public Welfare, vol. 44, no. 2, Spring 1986, pp. 5-10. The author, assistant director of the Chicago Child Care Society, interprets existing data, noting that there is more potential for pain among birthmothers than had previously been thought.

Weinreb, M. and Konstam, V. “Birthmothers: A Retrospective Analysis of the Surrendering Experience.” Psychotherapy in Private Practice, vol. 15, no. 1, 1996, pp. 59-70. These two University of Massachusetts researchers looked at 32 subjects who relinquished probably in the early to mid 70’s and suffered from depression and insecurity about their parental competence.

Weinstein, Marybeth. “Markets, Black and Gray, in Babies.” New York Times Magazine, November 27 1955, pp. 12+.

Wells, Sue. “Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in Birth Mothers.” Adoption and Fostering, vol. 17, no. 2, 1993, pp. 30-32. This paper is an excerpt from a conference presentation.

Wells, Sue. “What do Birth Parents Want?” Adoption and Fostering, vol. 17, no. 4, 1993, pp. 12-26. Wells is a New Zealand birthmother and writer who surveyed 262 birthmothers..

Wells, Sue. Within Me, Without Me. Scarlet Press. 1994. Written by a birthmother, this collection of personal stories spans from the 60s through the 80s. Notably, the more “healthy” accounts are the more recent ones.

White, Glenn Matthew. “Teenage Illegitimate Pregnancy: Why Does it Happen?” Ladies Home Journal, August 1958.

Winkler, R.C. and M. van Keppel. Relinquishing Mothers in Adoption: Their Long-Term Adjustment. Monograph #3, Institute of Family Studies, Melbourne, Australia, 1984. This study, which appears to focus on women who relinquished between 1964 and 1980, attempts to overcome sampling biases by finding birthmothers who were not members of support groups and by including a control group. It looks at 213 women and rates their adjustment according to the number of years elapsed. Fifty percent of the participants reported a sense of loss.

Wrieden, Jane. “The Meaning of the Maternity Home.” Children, vol. 3, January-February 1956, pp. 13-6. Wrieden was the superintendent at Booth Memorial Hospital in Cleveland.

Young, Leontine, Out of Wedlock: A Study of the Problems of the Unmarried Mother and Her Child. McGraw-Hill, 1954. Young was an influential theorist in the field of social work who specialized in the field of illegitimacy and worked as a consultant for federal, state, and local governments and for national organizations addressing the problem of illegitimacy. This pamphlet described the problem of intentional out-of-wedlock pregnancy, its “motivation,” and its implication: that unwed mothers were generally unfit to parent their children. It was circulated widely among social workers in the field of adoption and maternity home care during the decade after its publication.