By Belinda Nolan
Victoria University (VU) PhD graduate Dr Phillipa Castle this month unveiled her study, A Unique Loss: The experience of birth mothers in open adoption, which uncovered startling revelations about the adoption process.
Based at VU’s St Albans campus, Dr Castle interviewed 15 birth mothers aged between 21 to 50 who had given up a child since the introduction of open adoption in Victoria in 1984.
Alarmingly, the study found that 20 per cent of birth mothers had experienced difficulty accessing the child during agreed contact times, or a complete breakdown of their relationship with the adoptive family.
Although supported by the law, many birth mothers felt unable to speak up about their experiences, Dr Castle found.
“The most disappointing aspect (of the study) is that these birth mothers don’t feel confident enough to challenge these violations of their legal agreement in the County Court,” Dr Castle said.
“Unfortunately, the law is not a useful tool of repair because a court case is too confronting or intimidating.”
While finding that open adoption was a generally positive process, Dr Castle called for training for adoptive parents to ensure they were “genuinely open to open adoption.”
“Its main drawback is that ongoing contact is continually ambiguous,” Dr Castle said.
