From Decision to Reunion: The Experiences of Birth Mothers in Taiwan

Birth mothers remain an underrepresented and stigmatized group in adoption research, particularly in non-Western contexts. This qualitative study explores Taiwanese birth mothers’ experiences from the decision to relinquish their children for adoption, the emotional aftermath, and their eventual reunion. Thematic analysis was applied to in-depth interviews that were conducted with 15 birth mothers who had reunited with their children. The findings show that relinquishment is not experienced as a resolved event but as an ongoing relational process shaped by solitude, loss, and moral expectations of motherhood. Many birth mothers maintained emotional or relational distance from their children as a protective strategy closely linked to the belief that adoption ensured the child would be “better off.” Reunion may also require birth mothers to reengage with past relationships with birth fathers, an experience that many find difficult or wish to avoid. These findings underscore the need for relationship-aware, shame-sensitive, and trauma-informed adoption practices.