TO WORK WITH BIOLOGICAL MOTHERS IN LUNDFROM AN ORGANIZATIONAL POINT OF VIEWALEXANDRA BERTRAMBertram, A. Degree project in social work 15 Credits. Malmö University: Faculty of health and society, Department of Social Work, 2014.This essay deals with biological mothers whose children are placed in foster care within the municipality of Lund. This essay aimed to describe how social workers in Lund deal with biological mothers from investigation, to treatment. In this essay social workers whom meets biological mothers on an everyday basis have been interviewed about their experience in the field, to gather information. The result of this study describes how the social service in Lund works with biological mothers, routines for offering the mother support, reception of the mothers, how to diminish the risk of the mother feeling stigmatized, how the mother can have power to change her current situation, cooperation between different units in the social services, how the relationship between mother and child are planned and maintained and to presuppose from a parent orientated perspective and a child orientated perspective.Keywords: biological mothers, cooperation, foster care, organisation, social services, treatment

Vid brister i föräldraförmågan, där modern inte kan se till att sitt barn får de grundläggande behoven tillgodosedda tvingas hon ibland till familjehemsplacering av sitt barn enligt Socialtjänstlagen (SoL, SFS 2001:453) eller enligt Lag med särskilda bestämmelser om vård av unga (LVU, SFS 1990:52). Dessa mödrar har enligt lag rätt till stöd för att bearbeta de känslor som kan uppstå vid denna typ av trauma. Mödrar med egna erfarenheter, exempel Widerlöv (2012) och Trullson (2008) har skrivit // artiklar och böcker där de berättar om att mödrar kan drabbas av känslor som skuld, skam och sorg, och att de har ett behov av stöd i samband med familjehemsplaceringarna.Studien är gjord efter en kvalitativ metod med ett induktivt förhållningssätt. För att kunna besvara studiens syfte och svara på frågeställningarna har sju semi-strukturerade intervjuer med biologiska mödrar genomförts.I resultatet har det framkommit att alla mödrar utom en är missnöjd det stöd som de har erbjudits. Det handlar både om att de inte har blivit erbjudna stöd och att det har varit fel sorts stöd för dem. Andra viktiga aspekter som har framkommit i resultatet är mödrarnas känsla av sorg när deras barn blir familjehemsplacerade, den nya föräldrarollen som uppstår, att socialtjänsten har ett barnperspektiv vid utredningar och beslut samt vilken typ av stöd mödrarna önskar. Detta analyseras sedan med hjälp av den tidigare forskningen som har hittats inom ämnet och med hjälp av Fyhrs sorgteori samt anknytningsteorin. I slutet av uppsatsen presenteras de slutsatser författarna har kommit fram till och en diskussion om dessa. / In lack of parenting skills, where the biological mother can´t give her child its fundamental needs, they´re sometimes forced to place their children into foster homes according to the Swedish law. The two laws who decide if the social services need to help the child is the law of social services (SoL, SFS 2001:453) or the law with special provision about care of children and youth (LVU, SFS 1990:52). These mothers have according to the law the right to get support from the social services to handle the feelings that can come up in these types of trauma. Mothers with direct experience, for example Widerlöv (2012) och Trullson (2008), have written books and articles where they explain that mothers suffer feelings like quilt, shame and sorrow. Therefore they really need the support from the social services. This study is made out of a qualitative and inductive method and to answer the questions of this study, seven semi-structured interviews with biological mothers have been made.In the result the reader can see that all mothers except one are not satisfied with the support that they´ve been offered. It´s both that they haven´t been offered support and that it has been the wrong kind of support for them. There are other important aspects shown in the result which is for example the mothers sorrow when their children move to a foster family, the new role of parenting, and the sorrow for the mothers that the social services works in the perspective of children in investigations and decisions, and what type of support the mother has the right to get. In the analysis the results connects to research related to this subject and the theory of sorrow by Fyhr and the attachment theory. The writers will in the end of this essay account about the conclusions of this study and follow that up with a discussion.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Birth mothers of open adoption are not well studied. This inquiry explored birth mothers’ experiences surrounding unintended pregnancy and infant open adoption placement. The focused objective was to describe adolescent birth mothers’ lives following pregnancy and adoption placement. This qualitative study used naturalistic inquiry, with participants giving 1 to 2 hour tape recorded telephone interviews. Verbatim transcripts were de-identified and systematically analyzed. Birth mother samples were at either 1 to 5 years or 5 to 15 years after infant open adoption placement. Overall both samples chronicled stories from preconception through current life. Birth mothers of both samples were unanimous in their support of open adoption. The sample of 10 birth mothers who were interviewed 1 to 5 years postplacement shared life descriptions from prepregnancy; pregnancy with the decision for open adoption placement and choice of adoptive family; birth in context with the adoptive parents and birth child; postpartum and discharge. Postplacing birth mother findings were presented using the acronym AFRESH: A–adoption accomplishments; F–fresh start; R–relationships; E–emotions; S–support; H–healing. Personal, social, and relational benefits of open adoption far outweighed pregnancy, birth, and emotional challenges. Even though the process and outcome were “hard,” and included personal obstacles, the open adoption placement was “best.” Birth children were viewed as thriving, blossoming, and having a wonderful life. Adoptive families were cherished like those of extended family. Birth mothers thought health care providers should share the option, and then provide adoption friendly care. They also would advise pregnant teens to choose open adoption. Results from the 5 to 15 years postplacement sample of 5 birth mothers yielded themes of (1) satisfaction about decision for open adoption, choice of adoptive couple, and seeing a thriving birth child; (2) personal milestone accomplishments in education, finances, work, life, and relationships; (3) a sustaining sense of being a better person with an improved life; and (4) the essential need for support during and after the process.