Pause has published a new report, 'Exploring Birth Mothers’ Experiences of Contact After Adoption,' which draws together the voices of women whose children have been adopted. It highlights both the challenges of maintaining contact and the opportunities that meaningful support can create.

It examines how to build the foundations for keeping in touch after adoption, the different forms that contact can take, and the support that birth mothers need. The report also makes the case for a system that is flexible and able to adapt over time to meet the needs of each child and family.

As birth mothers contributing to the report explained:

“Our hope for the system in the future is that it will help children, birth families and adoptive families maintain positive relationships, so that children grow up knowing they are loved by both parts of their families, and that we all want what’s best for them.”

The report identifies three key areas of practice that can make a lasting difference:

• Support to lay the foundations for keeping in touch after adoption
• An individual and flexible approach to contact
• Support to maintain relationships

At Adoption England, we remain committed to modernising adoption so that adopted people can stay connected to their birth families and to those who matter most in their lives.