Adoptees adopted outside the United States or internationally face different challenges in searching for their birth parents. Each country has its own laws governing the information and access to it. In addition the record keeping practices vary across the countries and cultures and you may find that no information has been ever recorded or that records were misplaced or that cultural practices placed no emphasis on accurate record keeping.

However, I have a theory that it may actually be easier to gain access to an original birth certificate in... more

Below are some search links that may aid you in your search for your natural family. Remember that part of searching is obtaining and compiling information and these sites may be a valuable tool for you.

www.zabasearch.com This is a free search database. You can search by name, phone number, social security number, and links to run a fee based background check through intellus. You can also search messages. If you enter a name or place, the website will search all it’s messages for the ones containing the... more

In order to understand and hel p yourself make an action plan for your search, you first have to understand the various types of adoption. Depending on the type of adoption will depend on what avenues you may or may not be able to pursue in your search.

I am writing in general and are covering adoptions of today as well as during the closed adoption era. This is a breakdown of the basic types of adoptions.

The first is private. No profit or for profit adoption agencies, doctors, attorneys, and members of the clergy facilitate these adoptions.... more

My review of the literature, which is presented in Chapter II, delved into three major areas: mother-infant attachment theory; the social construction of adoption, relinquishment and motherhood, and trauma theory. My analysis of the literature was largely influenced by a postmodern and social constructionist worldview.

In Chapter III, I present the methodology employed in this study. I utilized a multi-method approach which consisted of both a closed-ended postal survey completed by 79 respondents and a facilitated, small group... more

The adoption triad consists of the birthparents, the adoptive parents, and the adoptee. While much has been studied and written about both the adoptive parents and the adoptee, there exists a paucity of research in the area of birthparents. However, there is a rapidly growing body of autobiographical literature authored by birthmothers. This study was designed to complement these narratives both quantitatively and qualitatively. From a biopsychosocial perspective, the birthmother’s experience mandates a multi-contextual examination of historical, socio-cultural,... more

Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live.

Dorothy Thompson

Even the title of this article might cause some adoptees to get their feathers ruffled. They might believe that it insinuates that everyone should search. As much as I am in favor of searches, I do not believe in forcing someone who does not want to search.

Although I support search and reunion wholeheartedly, I generally resist... more

Author, bell hooks, in her book Feminist Theory From Margin to Center, writes: "Women are the group most victimized by sexist oppression. As with other forms of group oppression, sexism is perpetuated by institutional and social structures; by the individuals who dominate, exploit, or oppress; and by the victims themselves who are socialized to behave in ways that make them act in complicity with the status quo" (1984, p. 43).

The thousands of birthmother stories that I have witnessed suggests that birthmothers as a group have been victimized, oppressed,... more

There are an estimated 6,000,000 birthmothers in the United States – biological mothers who have surrendered their children to adoption (Jones, 1993). I am one of the 6,000,000 – together with a multitude of sisters, mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, aunts, nieces, cousins, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. We are educators, students, physicians, office clerks, salespersons, lawyers, accountants, tellers, beauticians – from all walks of life, all income levels, all ages. Although we may be standing side-by-side, we are unseen by each other and unseen... more

This piece was written by Judy Kelly and copyrighted in 1999. It is being reprinted with permission. Please see the copyright disclosure at the end of the blog series.

During the mid-1960’s, there came together a set of social phenomena that resulted in the relinquishment of unprecedented numbers of infants by birthmothers. This thesis explores the long-term impact of relinquishment on women who lost their children to adoption during the years 1965 and 1972. These years marked the coincidence of two major events: (1) the emergence of a sexual revolution... more

Did you see an email message recently that said the Chicken Soup for the Soul publishers were planning a new book, Chicken Soup for the Adopted Soul? The announcement touted the fact that the book would be edited by LeAnne Theiman, an adoptive mom.

Thieman is also co-author of Chicken Soup for the Nurse’s Soul, Chicken Soup for the Christian Woman’s Soul, Chicken Soup for the Caregiver’s Soul, Chicken Soup for the Father and Daughter Soul, Chicken Soup for the Grandma’s Soul, Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul 2 and Chicken Soup for the Mother and Son... more