The National Council for Adoption conducted a study in 2022 that compared adoption stigmatization over the years. In the 1970s, 70% of birth mothers who placed their children for adoption felt stigmatized in some way. That number went up to 90% in the 2010s.

Adoptions Have Changed

In many cases in the 1970s, no one was aware that the adoption took place at all. There was a higher prevalence of closed adoptions, and in those arrangements, adoptees don’t have access to the original birth records. As a result, relationships or contact between the birth family and the family who adopts usually didn’t happen at all. Such things were kept firmly separate by way of an agency, and the process was anonymized and mediated. Fortunately, these days, many people consult a New Jersey adoption attorney throughout the process so that all parties involved are on the same page.

Who Stigmatizes Adoption?

The National Council of Adoption survey found that most of the people who took part cited their own family members as one of the main sources of stigmatization. This included parents and other immediate family but also included extended family as well. Stigmatization could also come from their circle of friends and even people who work in healthcare. Yet another source of stigma comes from religious leaders and other members of the clergy.

But the question persists: What causes the stigma to begin with, and what causes this type of behavior in those who are supposed to help people? By some people’s reasoning, now that it is less of a stigma to have a child out of wedlock, there’s all the more reason to keep the child and not give them up for adoption.

The Women of Then and Now

There are far fewer teenage pregnancies than in the past on average. According to the study, in the 2010s, women were an average of 29 years old when they decided to place their child up for adoption.

Of these women, 60% were in a marriage, and over two-thirds of them held either a master’s or bachelor’s degree. This helps researchers rule out their age or education as determining factors for their decision to go with adoption. These women face stigma because people feel that if they are the same age as many of their peers who have children and they have an education that allows them to obtain gainful employment they should be committed to raising a child when they become pregnant.

In the past, many women had put their children up for adoption because they were young and unwed when they became pregnant or because they had no education and consequently no means by which to support a child on their own. As a result, it was deemed more understandable when a woman in these circumstances put her child up for adoption.

The Spence-Chapin Research Study on Adoption

The NORC, the University of Chicago’s research organization, came out with the Spence-Chapin Research Study on Adoption in December 2022. This study took a closer look at the mothers who used Spence-Chapin Adoption Services.

The study found that there are double standards at play, many of which are harmful and untrue. Among these are the idea that a mother must be at the peak of her career, have all her finances all in order, and be completely stable and free of work stress to raise a child.

Race Plays a Role

There are racial factors at play as well. Fifteen percent of white women said they hadn’t experienced any stigmatization for their decision to go with adoption. That number is down to 7% for black women who were posed with the same question.

Black women said they had to deal with less perceived judgment from clergy members. Unfortunately, there was an increase in the amount of stigmatization from friends, parents, and extended family members.

Contact Cofsky & Zeidman today at (856) 429-5005. Donald Cofsky is a New Jersey adoption attorney who will work with you without judgment when you make the decision that is best for you.