Twenty-one women adopted as infants within the Australian state of Victoria discussed their lived experience as mothers and the impacts of their adoption at this life stage. Sixteen participants took part in semi-structured interviews and the emerging categories were evaluated by a focus group of five additional adopted women. While each of their accounts is unique, reflecting their own individual life histories, partnerships and social networks, shared threads of meaning run through the combined narratives. The women’s descriptions of the values and models of care they bring to motherhood, their view of their children and the hopes they have for their family of procreation are each discussed in the light of their adoption status and experiences. Particular emphasis is given to issues of their adjustments to identity and extended family relationships and experiences of loss. This breaks new ground for a population that remains largely hidden within Australian society and points a way to future research endeavours in this area.

中文翻译：

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被收养并成为母亲

澳大利亚维多利亚州内 21 名被收养为婴儿的妇女讨论了她们作为母亲的生活经历以及她们在这一生命阶段被收养的影响。十六名参与者参加了半结构化访谈，新兴类别由另外五名收养女性组成的焦点小组进行评估。虽然他们的每个账户都是独一无二的，反映了他们自己的个人生活史、伙伴关系和社交网络，但共同的意义线索贯穿于组合的叙述中。妇女对她们为母亲带来的价值观和照料模式的描述、她们对孩子的看法以及她们对生育家庭的希望都根据她们的收养状况和经历进行了讨论。特别强调了他们对身份和大家庭关系以及失去经历的调整问题。这为大部分仍隐藏在澳大利亚社会中的人口开辟了新天地，并为该领域的未来研究工作指明了方向。