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31 Issues L. & Med. 139 (2016)
From Birth Mothers to First Mothers: Toward a Compassionate Understanding of the Life-Long Act of Adoption Placement

handle is hein.journals/ilmed31 and id is 147 raw text is: From Birth Mothers to First Mothers: Toward a Compassionate Understanding of the Life-Long Act of Adoption Placement Priscilla K. Coleman, Ph.D.* Debbie Garratt, R.N., M.Ed.** ABSTRACT: Objective: Women who place a child for adoption have historically been far less actively researched than the other individuals in the adoption triad (adoptees and adoptive parents). They often have unmet psychological needs related to the decision to place for adoption, the placement experience, and as they endeavor to move forward post-adoption. In this review an effort is made to provide a description and analysis of the professional literature on women's placement experiences, with attention to methodological challenges inherent in deriving valid results. Next an overview of the results of a mixed method pilot study on birth mothers' decision-making and adjustment is shared. Finally, the most pressing future research needs on the topic of adoption placement from the birth mother's perspective are outlined. Data sources and extraction: Employing the following search terms: adop- tion, open-adoption, closed adoption, birth-mother, biological mother, re- linquishment, and adoption placement, an exhaustive search for empirical journal articles, reviews, and edited book chapters was conducted yielding over 80 publications. Sources spanning a 50 year period (1974-2014) were identified via MEDLINE, PUBMED, and PsycINFO. * Professor of Human Development and Family Studies, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio 43402, USA, Telephone: +01.419.372.6492, FAX: +01.372.7854, pcolema@bgsu.edu (Con- tributions: research design, survey development. data collection, data analysis, and writing of report). The author(s) report no financial or other relationship relevant to the subject of this article. ** Executive Director, Real Choices Australia (Contributions: research design, survey development, data collection, editing of report). 139

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