News Roundup: Research Explores Long-Term Attitudes Of Birth Mothers Who Place A Child For Adoption

Our daily look at Texas headlines.

By Becky FogelJune 14, 2018 1:52 pm

The Standard’s news roundup gives you a quick hit of interesting, sometimes irreverent, and breaking news stories from all over the state.

A recent study finds that birth mothers who place their child for adoption are typically less satisfied with their decision over time.

Dr. Elissa Madden, an associate professor of social work at Baylor University, is the lead author of the study, “The Relationship Between Time and Birth Mother Satisfaction with Relinquishment.” She says they surveyed 223 birth mothers, which is a population that is not often studied. Dr. Madden explains they wanted to understand the context in which the mothers decided to place a child for adoption, “So what was going on in their life at the time, what was happening, what were the circumstances, did they feel coerced, how satisfied did they feel about their decision afterwards?”

They also looked at whether the mothers had contact with the adopted child – and those who did were actually more satisfied with their decision.

“What we know from that is really supported in the literature, that, that contact after the adoption has taken place, really speaks to reassuring the mother that the child’s being taken care of, that the child’s okay, and that sort of goes on to reinforce that they’ve made a good decision,” Madden says. “And that maybe they made the best decision for them and for their child given the circumstances.”

Madden explains the birth mothers who often struggled the most with this decision were those who had higher incomes and higher levels of educational attainment.

“And so one possible reason we think that might be is because as these mothers accomplish different things in their life and as they pass through different milestones, they may sort of feel that they’ve done so at the expense of the ability to raise their child,” Madden says.

She says this research demonstrates that more supportive services are necessary for birth mothers, and birth parents in general, throughout their lives after an adoption takes place.




Federal immigration officials are questioning 54 migrants found in a trailer Tuesday night in San Antonio. This is the third such high profile human smuggling incident in nearly a year in that city.  Joey Palacios with Texas Public Radio reports the migrants were from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Brazil.

The refrigerated trailer was found near the San Antonio airport. The driver, 36-year-old Gerardo Javier Carreon of Laredo, was arrested and charged federally with human smuggling. Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent In Charge Shane Folden says some migrants may be held as material witnesses.

And the other individuals will likely be put into a removal process. Officials did not say where the trailer originated or where it was heading. Last July, nearly 40 migrants were found in an unventilated trailer in Walmart parking lot. Ten of them died.




Texas watermelon and cantaloupe crops are thriving this year.

Dr. Juan Anciso, a horticulturist with Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service, says hot and dry conditions have been key.

“That benefits cantaloupes and watermelons in terms of them not getting diseases and having production problems, but it also benefits them that they turn out to be a little more sweeter,” Anciso says.

Texas is typically the top producer of seedless watermelons in the United States.