In this article, I take a critical approach to the marginalisation of the grief experienced by first mothers who have experienced the non-consensual adoption of a child in England, in a context within which welfare benefits and services intended to support the most disadvantaged families have been dramatically curtailed. With reference to the concepts of disenfranchised grief and ambiguous loss, and in light of some identified parallels between the death of a child and the loss of a child to adoption, I draw upon literature from the field of bereavement studies in presenting findings arising from semi-structured interviews in which 17 first mothers sorted through artefacts such as toys, clothing and blankets associated with their now-adopted children and reflected upon the meanings that such keepsakes had taken on in their lives after loss. Respondents’ accounts revealed that artefacts were invested with high value, and could operate as vehicles for memories of time spent caring for children. It was found that interacting with artefacts could bring comfort, evoking in mothers sensory memories of the smell and feel of their now-adopted child. Interactions with artefacts were found to hold capacity to affirm respondents’ maternal status, as well as symbolising oppression and injustice, sometimes evoking strong feelings of anger directed towards professionals involved in children’s adoption.

在这篇文章中，在旨在支持最弱势家庭的福利福利和服务的背景下，我对在英格兰经历过非自愿领​​养儿童的第一任母亲所经历的悲痛的边缘化采取了批判的态度。被大幅削减。关于被剥夺权利的悲痛和模糊丧失的概念，并鉴于儿童死亡和儿童被收养之间的某些相似之处，我借鉴了丧亲研究领域的文献，提出了半- 结构化访谈，其中 17 位第一任母亲整理了与现在收养的孩子相关的玩具、衣服和毯子等手工艺品，并反思了这些纪念品在失去后的生活中所具有的意义。受访者的陈述显示，人工制品的投资价值很高，可以作为回忆照顾孩子的时间的载体。研究发现，与人工制品互动可以带来安慰，唤起母亲对他们现在收养的孩子的气味和感觉的感官记忆。发现与人工制品的相互作用能够确认受访者的母亲身份，并象征着压迫和不公正，有时会引起对参与儿童收养的专业人士的强烈愤怒。