women in the study were interviewed about their experiences using open-ended questions. The process of relinquishment was examined, including the pregnancy, deliberating about relinquishment, the hospital experience, and living with relinquishment.
According to the Lauderdale and Boyle (1994), analyses of interview data revealed that women who experienced open adoption were "grateful givers". These women were given this label because results of the analysis revealed that they showed attachment to their pregnancies as well as sought both support and prenatal care. Also, they were able to come to terms with the loss of their baby.
On the other hand, women who experienced a closed adoption were described as "reluctant givers". Findings showed that these women experienced feelings of nonattachment to their pregnancies and chose to hide the fact that they were pregnant. In addition, these women did not receive prenatal care and found it difficult if not impossible to resolve the loss of their children. It was concluded that, at least in terms of the experiences had by the birth mother, open adoption was preferable to closed adoption.
Other studies have reported similar findings. For example, Gross (1993) conducted a meta-analysis of six empirical studies of open adoption. Further, an analysis was conducted of data drawn from two new databases, one involving in-depth interviews with 32 adoptive and 15 associated biological parents and the other resulting from a questionnaire that had been sent to adoptive parents ( N = 75).
Gross (1993) reported that both the review and the new data supported cautious optimism about adoptive and biological parents' response to the openness in their relationship with adoptive parents feeling that contact with biological parents helped to reduce their fear of the unknown. In other words, there is at least some empirical support for the notion that the open adoption can be associated ...