Adoption or Parenting Not Always the Best Choice

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Adoption or Parenting Not Always the Best Choice

Despite the claims of protesters, adoption or parenting may not be the best choice. There’s recent evidence that refutes the protesters’ claims to “Wait another six months and you’ll grow to love the child” or “Give your baby up for adoption. You don’t have to kill it.” In an excerpt from Kornfield and Geller, the authors write the following:

Kost, Landry, and Darroch (1998) found many negative consequences for mothers and children of carrying such a pregnancy to term, including late presentation for prenatal care, a decrease in health promotion behaviors during pregnancy, continued alcohol and nicotine use during pregnancy, premature delivery, low-birth-weight infants, infants that are small for gestational age, inconsistent or no presentation for well- baby care, and a lack of breastfeeding. An unwanted pregnancy increases the likelihood that the infant’s health will be compromised (odds ratio, 1.3; Kost et al., 1998) and it also shows poor outcomes for maternal fetal bonding should the birth mother keep and raise the child (Barber, Axinn, & Thornton, 1999). These authors also point out that poor mother–child relationships are not specific to the unwanted child; all of the children in the family suffer when the mother has given birth to a child as a result of an unwanted pregnancy. Many mothers with unwanted pregnancies deliver low or very low birth weight infants (Kost et al., 1998), which has been associated with higher levels of maternal psychological distress including depression, anxiety, and obsessive compulsive behaviors (Singer et al., 1999).

Unwanted pregnancy and delivery has also been shown to be associated with postpartum depression (Beck, 2001), feelings of powerlessness, increased time pressures, and impaired physical health (Barber et al., 1999). Regardless of whether the mother keeps or gives the child up for adoption, she must actually go through the physical act of an unwanted childbirth. Barber et al. (1999) posit that this is likely to lead to significant feelings of powerlessness which has been significantly associated with the development of depression and anxiety, as well as with malaise, physical illness, and alcoholism (e.g., Bird & Ross, 1993; Mirowsky & Ross, 1986). The research cited above summarily shows that although there is no evidence for widespread and consistent symptoms of mental health disorders among women after an elective abortion, there may actually be significant negative consequences of unwanted childbearing for the mental health of the mother. This raises the question of whether an unqualified call for adoption is really a better option for maternal mental health. A mother who chooses to give up her child for adoption still has to undergo an unwanted pregnancy and childbirth with all of the poor potential outcomes that this may entail. Consequently, a child with health complications given up for adoption may not be seen as the most desirable candidate for prospective families and may languish in foster care. Additionally, the mental health of women who have given their children up for adoption has not been studied in depth owing to privacy laws that maintain the confidentiality of birth mothers. Most research on adoption has been conducted to determine factors that cause or result in mental health problems for children who have been adopted with the resounding finding being that most adoptees fall within the normal range of psychological functioning (Brodzinsky, Smith, & Brodzinsky, 1998; Wegar, 2000). Research that has been conducted on birth mother outcomes after relinquishment of the infant has found evidence supporting poor mental health and adjustment after the adoption. Deykin, Campbell, and Patti (1984) found that having given up a child is perceived by birth mothers as having a long-term negative influence on their lives in the areas of marriage, fertility, and parenting subsequent children. Similarly, Wiley and Baden (2005) found that clinical symptoms for birth parents include unresolved grief, isolation, difficulty with future relationships, and trauma, and Kelly (1999) found evidence for increased rates of depression among birth mothers (51% of respondents endorsed severe depression since relinquishment and 97% endorsed some level of depression [mild, moderate, or severe]). Last, in their review article, Askren and Bloom (1999) found a grief reaction unique to birth mothers who had surrendered their children for adoption. This grief reaction consists of the typical features of the normal grief reaction; however, the symptoms persist and often lead to chronic unresolved grief. If anti-abortion activists and legislators want to spin their ‘‘fetally focused platform’’ (Steinberg et al., 2009) to one of maternal mental health, then the scientific evidence should be examined from every angle, not solely what supports their claim that elective abortions are bad for women. In so doing, it becomes evident that elective abortions only rarely result in negative mental health outcomes for the mother. Generally, the studies that show widespread poor mental health outcomes make inappropriate causal inferences, use poorly selected control groups, and may be motivated by the authors’ political or religious viewpoints. Alternatives to abortion such as giving birth to an unwanted child and relinquishing that child for adoption are often cited as recommended substitutes to preserve the mental health of the mother; however, as referenced, these options may not improve outcomes and may in fact result in no better and perhaps even worse consequences for maternal health and well-being.

Source:

MENTAL HEALTH OUTCOMES OF ABORTION AND ITS ALTERNATIVES: Implications for Future Policy

Sara Levine Kornfield, MS*, and Pamela A. Geller, PhD

Drexel University, Department of Psychology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Received 4 August 2009; revised 5 December 2009; accepted 10 December 2009

Elsevier Publications