Relinquishment decision
This section shares details of the birth mothers’ relinquishment decision, including the timeframe that birth mothers had between giving birth and signing relinquishment of parental rights documents, their reasons for relinquishment, and their overall level of satisfaction with their decision.
Relinquishment timeframe
Birth mothers were asked when they signed the relinquishment of parental rights documents. Almost one-third (n=70, 31.4 percent) of birth mothers reported that they signed relinquishment documents within one to two days after the birth of their child. Sixty-one (27.4 percent) signed the documents seven or more days after the birth. In contrast, a small percentage (n=9, 4.0 percent) signed relinquishment documents while pregnant, and 15 (6.7 percent) signed the documents within a few hours of their child’s birth. Relinquishment documents were most commonly signed in the hospital (n=91, 40.8 percent), followed by an agency or other office-type setting (n=57, 25.6 percent), court house (n=36, 16.1 percent), or the mother’s home (n=17, 7.6 percent). Twenty-two (9.9 percent) birth mothers selected “Other” location, including restaurants, churches, and hotel rooms.
Birth parents were asked if they believed they had sufficient time to review the relinquishment of parental rights documents prior to signing. Of the 222 participants who responded to the question, slightly more than one-third (n=86, 38.7 percent) reported they felt that they did not have sufficient time to review documents, while the remaining birth mothers (n=136, 61.3 percent) indicated they felt they had sufficient time to review relinquishment documents.
Reasons for relinquishment
Respondents were asked to select all of the reasons they had for relinquishing their child for adoption. Figure 16.4 presents the various reasons that birth mothers were asked to choose from and the number of birth mothers who selected each answer. The most common reasons selected included "financial concerns" (n=183, 82.1 percent), their "relationship status” with the child’s father (n=133, 59.6 percent), “lack of social support” (n=114,
51.1 percent), and “felt unprepared to be a parent" (n=113, 50.7 percent).
In addition to the constellation of reasons birth mothers reported for why they relinquished their child for adoption, they were also asked to choose one of these as their primary reason for their decision to relinquish their child for adoption. An overwhelming majority of birth mothers reported that the primary reason they relinquished their child was concerns about finances (n=183, 82.1 percent). The next most frequently selected reason was “felt unprepared to be a parent" (n=36, 16.1 percent), followed by the "circumstances in my life were not conducive to parenting” (n=34, 15.2 percent). Twenty-nine (13 percent) birth mothers reported that the primary reason they made the decision to relinquish was pressure from family members.
Birth mothers were asked the extent to which their decision to relinquish was based on their own wishes. Almost one-fourth of the birth mothers (n=54, 24.3 percent) reported
Figure 16.4 Reasons for relinquishing child for adoption that the decision was “not at all” based on their wishes. Seventy-three (32.9 percent) birth mothers indicated that the decision was based either “a little” or “some” on their wishes. The highest proportion of birth mothers in the study (n=95, 42.8 percent) reported that the decision was based “a lot” on their own wishes for the situation.
Satisfaction with decision
Using a five-point Likert scale, birth mothers were asked to rank their overall satisfaction with the decision to relinquish their child for adoption. Almost half (n=103, 46.2 percent) reported that they were either “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with the decision. Fifty (20.2 percent) birth mothers reported having “mixed/ambivalent” feelings about the decision to relinquish their child, while the remaining 75 (33.6 percent) birth mothers reported feeling “dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied.” Respondents were asked a follow-up question to understand if they have ever regretted their decision to relinquish their parental rights to their child. Almost half (n=103, 46.2 percent) reported that they have regretted their decision in some capacity. Sixty-four (28.7 percent) birth mothers indicated that they have not ever regretted their decision to relinquish their parental rights to their child. When asked how well they have adjusted to their decision to relinquish their child, a majority (n=134, 60.1 percent) of birth mothers reported “very well" or “somewhat well." Twenty-four (10.8 percent) birth mothers reported they have not adjusted well at all, while 21 (9.4 percent) reported feeling “neutral" about their adjustment. Fort}' (17.9 percent) birth mothers responded “I don't know” to this question.
Birth mothers were asked what impact the adoption has had on their life. Responses from birth mothers were very mixed. Fifty-nine (26.5 percent) birth mothers reported that the adoption has had an “overall negative impact,” while the same number of birth mothers (n=59, 26.5 percent) reported that the experience has had an “overall positive impact.” Slightly more than one-third (n=85, 38.1 percent) of birth mothers reported that the adoption has had a “mixed impact" on their life. Two respondents (<1 percent) reported the adoption had a "positive impact at first, but more negative impact now" while one (<1 percent) indicated that the adoption had “no impact" on their life.
Post-relinquishment support
Birth mothers were also asked to identify the types of services and supports available to them since the relinquishment of their parental rights to their child for adoption (See Figure 16.5). The majority (n=160, 71.7 percent) of birth mothers reported having access to postnatal care services after their child's deliver}'. Many (n=136, 61 percent) birth mothers also reported having access to family and friends to support them post-relinquishment. Generally, birth parents reported having little access to informal supports, such as informal counseling services (n=147, 65.9 percent) or informal contact with other birth parents in their community (n=124, 55.6 percent). Birth mothers also reported difficulty accessing other informal supports such as online support groups or listservs for members of the adoption triad (n=145, 65.0 percent) or those targeted specifically to birth parents (n=139, 62.3 percent).
Helpfulness of informal and formal supports
For each of the services and supports they accessed, birth parents were asked to indicate how helpful each was to them post-relinquishment. Generally, most birth mothers in the
Figure 16.5 Access to post-relinquishment services and support
study reported that all of the services were “very helpful” or at least “somewhat helpful.” However, support groups, online or face-to-face, appeared to be the most beneficial to birth parents. More than three-fourths (n=174, 78.2 percent) of birth parents reported that support groups were either “very helpful” or “somewhat helpful.” While all of the services and supports that were listed were rated fairly positively, the support provided by family appeared to be the least helpful for some respondents. Forty-seven (21.3 percent) birth mothers reported that family members were “not helpful."
Using a five-point Likert scale, birth parents were asked to indicate their overall satisfaction with the level of post-placement support available to them to address issues surrounding the relinquishment of their child. Ninety-six birth mothers (43 percent) reported that they were “not at all satisfied” with the level of support available to them after the placement of their child. Responses for the remaining 127 respondents were somewhat mixed. Slightly more than one-fourth (n=64, 28.7 percent) of birth mothers reported that they were “considerably satisfied” or “completely satisfied,” while the remaining 63 (28.2 percent) birth mothers indicated they were “a little satisfied” or “moderately satisfied” with the services and supports available to them after their child's placement.
