ABSTRACT
Until comparatively recently birth parents have been the obscured side of the adoption triangle. Adoption is an attempt to secure a better future for a child and the emphasis has been on the child’s integration into its new family and support for the adoptive parents. There has always (rightly) been enormous stress on the emotional needs of the child and the task which faces the adoptive parent. This has meant, in practice, that the birth parent has been someone left behind after the adoption order has been made, with an implication that her – for it usually is a ‘her’ – needs do not exist. That she will most likely make new relationships, have more children and may need support during the interim period, is usually ignored.
