A woman who has experienced an unintended pregnancy and chooses to place the child for adoption is known as a birthmother. When faced with an unintended pregnancy, women typically have three courses of action. They may choose to parent the child, terminate the pregnancy, or place the child for adoption. There is limited research on birthmothers themselves or societal perceptions of them. When it comes to societal perceptions of abortion, religiosity is a significant factor. Contrary to popular belief, many of the women who choose to abort do so in order to preserve the lives of their families. Single mothers are judged as poor workers due to their devotion to their children, a viewpoint that is compounded if the mother is black. This indicates that race may also play a role in perceptions of birthmothers. This research aimed to discover public perceptions of birthmothers and test factors that might contribute to those perceptions namely, abortion opinions. This study utilized data collected from a previous study with an online survey of 501 students from a university population conducted in the spring of 2015. Survey questions were open ended, multiple choice, and Likert scale. This study discovered that opinions of birthmothers are largely positive and that opinions on abortion may have a link with opinions of birthmothers. The findings of this study are important because there is minimal research on birthmothers and it helps shed light on public perceptions of this marginalized group. Research has shown that many birthmothers experience a lack of social support that could be remedied from programming that helps these women cope within society and efforts to educate the public about them.

This study focuses on the impact that relinquishing a child for adoption has on adolescent birthmothers. The study seeks to understand factors leading up to the adoption, the adoption process and factors impacting negatively on the birthmother following adoption, which influence school performance negatively. The factors impacting negatively on school performance are delineated by an empirical study founded on relevant literature. Five others who relinquished their babies for adoption were interviewed. Correlations were drawn between the factors identified within the literature study and new factors emerging h m the interviews. The study aims to provide Life Orientation educators with information regarding adoption, the adoption process and the impact adoption has on the birthmothers. Furthermore the study seeks to provide guidelines for the Life Orientation educators to help other work through factors that impact negatively on their school performance. The results of the study delineate seven definite factors impacting negatively on the birthmothers and their school performance. The school performance of the others to whom these Factors can be attributed, deteriorated drastically, while birthmothers who felt content with their decision showed almost no deterioration in their school performance. Further study with a greater number of birthmothers is needed to confirm the results obtained within this study. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2005.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2005.

This study focuses on the impact that relinquishing a child for adoption has on adolescent birthmothers. The study seeks to understand factors leading up to the adoption, the adoption process and factors impacting negatively on the birthmother following adoption, which influence school performance negatively. The factors impacting negatively on school performance are delineated by an empirical study founded on relevant literature. Five others who relinquished their babies for adoption were interviewed. Correlations were drawn between the factors identified within the literature study and new factors emerging h m the interviews. The study aims to provide Life Orientation educators with information regarding adoption, the adoption process and the impact adoption has on the birthmothers. Furthermore the study seeks to provide guidelines for the Life Orientation educators to help other work through factors that impact negatively on their school performance. The results of the study delineate seven definite factors impacting negatively on the birthmothers and their school performance. The school performance of the others to whom these Factors can be attributed, deteriorated drastically, while birthmothers who felt content with their decision showed almost no deterioration in their school performance. Further study with a greater number of birthmothers is needed to confirm the results obtained within this study. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2005.

Submitted by Ana Carla Almeida (ana.almeida@ucsal.br) on 2016-09-14T19:49:52Z No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao lorena brandao portella 2013 familia.pdf: 1149865 bytes, checksum: 02043478d877388a9d31e7b9692f8620 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Emília Carvalho Ribeiro (maria.ribeiro@ucsal.br) on 2016-09-21T20:02:25Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao lorena brandao portella 2013 familia.pdf: 1149865 bytes, checksum: 02043478d877388a9d31e7b9692f8620 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-21T20:02:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao lorena brandao portella 2013 familia.pdf: 1149865 bytes, checksum: 02043478d877388a9d31e7b9692f8620 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-01-31 / O objetivo principal deste trabalho foi compreender a entrega do filho recém-nascido a partir da motivação e dos sentimentos da mãe que a realiza. Denominada mãe abandonante, essa mulher que não deseja maternar pode deixar seu filho em condições perigosas ou entrega-lo para adoção, e este trabalho diferencia abandono de entrega. Seguindo uma abordagem qualitativa foram entrevistadas duas gerações de mães abandonantes [de quarenta e três anos de idade e vinte anos de idade] que já abandonaram alguns filhos entre zero e três anos [já tiveram sete e dois filhos respectivamente], e através de entrevista buscou-se motivações e sentimentos que se acercaram do enjeitamento. Para tanto, foi necessário avaliar e descrever o cotidiano de cada figura feminina sob diferentes etapas do ciclo de vida. As categorias utilizadas para analisar as aproximações e distanciamentos das duas jornadas foram infância, adolescência/juventude, iniciação sexual, maternidade, filhos e relação com parceiros, entrega de filhos. O que fica claro com o estudo é que essa entrega reflete a história de vida de cada uma e que os sentimentos e motivações são complexos e só podem ser analisados de per si. O estudo conclui que abandono gera abandono e, que nessa perspectiva, quem não teve um modelo de apego seguro com seus genitores, ou cuidador, estará mais propenso ao enjeitamento. / This study discusses the process of child abandonment in maternal perspective, identifying the birthmother’s profile and the relationship of her life story with this denial. In light of the literature this phenomenon is surrounded by factors of personal, family, social or economic issues that contribute for a mother to give up her son for adoption and is related in this research. The birthmother is the one who abandons leaving or delivering the child to be cared for by others and this research seeks to differentiate abandonment from giving to adoption. We interviewed two generations of birthmothers [forty-three and twenty years of age] who have already left some children between zero and three years [seven and two children respectively] through the interview and looked up motivations and feelings that have approached the abandonment. Therefore, it was necessary to evaluate and describe the daily life of each female figure under different stages of the life cycle. The categories used to analyze the similarities and differences of the two women were: childhood, adolescence/ youth, sexual initiation, maternity, children and relationship with partners, delivering children. What is clear from the study is that this delivery or abandonment reflects the life history of each one, and that the feelings and motivations are complex and can only be analyzed in each case. The study concludes that negligence generates abandonment, which in this perspective, those who did not have a model of secure attachment with their parent or caregiver, will be more prone to abandonment.

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