摘要：New Zealand, in contrast to other Western countries, has been practicing unlegislated open adoption policy as the primary means of adoption since the 1980s. Research on open adoption regarding adoptees and adoptive parents is emerging; but relatively little research has been done on the birthmother. This is especially true for research in the New Zealand context. Previous birthmother research has focused on psychosocial outcomes rather than the actual experience. This research sought to investigate the lived experience of New Zealand birthmothers in open adoption. Findings will add to the scarce New Zealand literature on open adoption and may influence future policy. An interpretive study, guided by hermeneutic phenomenology, was used to investigate the lived experience of New Zealand birthmothers in open adoption. Three themes were revealed: (1) Experiencing the openness of open adoption, (2) Being the birthmother, not the mother, and (3) Having a continual presence of the child. This study reveals there is more to being a birthmother than is usually portrayed in outcome studies. It has shown that investigating the lived experience of birthmothers yields much needed information for practice, policy and future research.
关键词：Sociology; Psychology; Cultural Studies; Family Studies;;Adoption; Adoption Triangle; Adoption Quadrangle; Adoptee; Natural or Birth Mother; Natural or Birth Father; Adoptive Parents; Parenthood;Early Childhood Trauma; Inter-country Adoption
