Many of the adopted children have gaps in their history as they grow older. Did they love me? Why was I given away? Was I not wanted? What happened to my birth parents? Were they married? Was I the result of a one-night stand? Are they still alive? Did I have any siblings or half-siblings?
It's very hard for someone to discover that their parents were married and they had older and younger siblings. Why would parents give away a middle child?
The reasons for giving up a child are many. The mother may only have been 15 or 16 and too young to care for a child. Casual relationships that broke up, with no support for the child. Strict parents not wanting the shame. Religious attitudes to unmarried mothers. Mixed races or religions (Catholic and Protestant in Ireland). Relationships with foreign servicemen reposted to their home country. Even for married couples, if the father is out of work or in prison. And the list goes on.
Another consideration is genetic disorders passed from generation to generation. There was a couple who had to surrender their child because they couldn't afford to feed themselves, let alone a baby. They stayed married for a couple of years, then divorced. The father suffered a heart condition and then discovered it was a genetic disorder. The race was on to locate the son. The parents searched together, through the program, and located the son. He was tested and found he had the disorder. He was only months away from a heart attack, but was treated in time and saved.
Mothers forced to give up their child `through parental pressure, social stigma or economic circumstances pine for their lost child for the rest of their lives, wanting to know if they had a good life, loving adoptive parents, and have made good as they grew up.