Parenting under Adversity: Birth Parents’ Accounts of Inequality and Adoption

Abstract

This paper aims to highlight inequality in current adoption processes and procedures in England and Wales. Whilst inequality has been recognised in adoption research, the role of social structures is often neglected. Inequality within social structures plays a role in the process of the permanent removal of children to be adopted and is worthy of further attention. Birth parent voices can contribute to a wider understanding of adoption, but often remain hidden. Empirical research findings highlight how birth parents may find that their adverse experiences are exacerbated by the adoption process, the emotional impact causing existing problems to increase, and through the impact of the adoption process on birth parent’s socio-economic status. Findings also illustrate how birth parents’ experiences were influenced by ideals of motherhood and ideas about ‘risk’ to children. The paper contributes to the growing area of research which illuminates the intersection of poverty, deprivation and child protection services and the wider contemporaneous debate concerning adoption in England and Wales.

‘I was putting her first’: Birth parents' experiences of ‘consent’ to adoption from care in England

“…In the authors' previous article, birth parents reported that difficult relationships with social workers, problems accessing support and court timescales meant that they felt they were ‘set up to fail’, or support was not offered until after the adoption meaning parents could not demonstrate change (Lewis & Brady, 2018). However, some parents were offered social work support during care proceedings but were not able to accept that support (Lewis & Brady, 2018). Only one of the birth parents within this study had an advocate.…”

“…Adoption raises questions about identity for birth mothers within a society in which motherhood is central to femininity (Morgan et al, 2019; Lewis & Brady, 2018; Morriss, 2018, Dominelli, 2009). Birth mothers who have children removed by the courts need to prove that they are worthy of being a mother (Honey et al, 2018).…”

Against All Odds? Birth Fathers and Enduring Thoughts of the Child Lost to Adoption

“…In conclusion, the agonies of birth mothers whose children were adopted before the 1990s have been documented (see for example, Charlton's Still Screaming, (Charlton 1998)) and those of birth fathers from the same period (Cicchini 1993;Clapton 2003;Witney 2004). Increasingly, the despair, anger and traumas of today's fathers and mothers whose parental rights have been forcibly extinguished and their children adopted are being charted (Clifton 2012;Lewis and Brady 2018;Smeeton and Boxall 2011). This paper has argued that dropping the 'birth' from fathers and mothers of children adopted out in the era of 'closed' adoptions is worth debate.…”

Geographies of Child Adoption in Greece During the Economic Crisis (2011-2018): Spatial Thinking of Inequalities, Trends, and Policies

“…It aims to rehabilitate children in need of protection in a family environment. By its nature, child adoption involves inequality (Lewis & Brady, 2018), either geographical, economic, and social, for children to be adopted, biological parents, and adoptive parents. Thus, the research emphasizes the significance of studying it further.…”