“I Assumed He Didn’t Exist”: The Birth Father as the Invisible Member of the Adoption Kinship Network

Historically, paternity has been constructed on the basis of uncertainty. Men and fathers have been underrepresented in studies of reproductive processes and parenting. In adoption, the figure of the birth father has been invisibilized and stereotyped. As part of a qualitative study of origins, identity, and adoption, carried out in Chile, the narratives about their birth father of adults, who had been adopted and sought their origins, were analyzed. The results show that (a) most interviewees had not thought to seek their birth father because they assumed he “did not exist”; (b) information about him is mediated by the birth mother, who acts as a gatekeeper; and (c) when the figure is present, it is usually depersonalized as genetic material or personalized negatively. The birth father omission in the adoption process poses challenges for both past and contemporary adoptions, in which birth fathers are ever more visible and heterogeneous.

Absence and Ambivalence

This chapter addresses birth fathers—but often in the context of their absence. Many adoptive parents did not appear to view birth fathers as symbolically or relationally as “important” as birth mothers. For some, this tendency persisted throughout their children’s lives. Others, though, became increasingly curious about their children’s birth fathers. Still others did enact relationships with birth fathers over time, and in some cases these were important relationships to parents and children. This chapter discusses these different patterns, with attention to how and why birth fathers are often “invisible” in adoption narratives. It also explores how adoptive parents talk about birth fathers and how this varies depending on whether parents adopted privately and domestically versus through foster care, and how it varies over time.

Against All Odds? Birth Fathers and Enduring Thoughts of the Child Lost to Adoption

This paper revisits a topic only briefly raised in earlier research, the idea that the grounds for fatherhood can be laid with little or no ‘hands-on’ experience of fathering and upon these grounds, an enduring sense of being a father of, and bond with, a child seen once or never, can develop. The paper explores the specific experiences of men whose children were adopted as babies drawing on the little research that exists on this population, work relating to expectant fathers, personal accounts, and other sources such as surveys of birth parents in the USA and Australia. The paper’s exploration and discussion of a manifestation of fatherhood that can hold in mind a ‘lost’ child, disrupts narratives of fathering that regard fathering as ‘doing’ and notions that once out of sight, a child is out of mind for a father. The paper suggests that, for the men in question, a diversity of feelings, but also behaviours, point to a form of continuing, lived fathering practices—that however, take place without the child in question. The conclusion debates the utility of the phrase “birth father” as applied historically and in contemporary adoption processes.

Masculinidades y Paternidades en la Adopción. Un lugar por Construir

In the field of adoption, international and Latin American scientific production has largely addressed the experiences of adoptive mothers, the adoptive family understood as a unit that includes either both members of the couple, or considering more marginally, to mothers of origin and finally, lesbian mothers, appreciating a strong "feminization" of the study of this topic. Research has not paid more attention to parents of origin and the various configurations in adoptive fatherhood. As a result, it has invisibilized the singularity, specificity and heterogeneity of meanings, practices and experiences about birth fathers and adoptive fathers and are still a number of stereotypes and prejudices that limit a more active inclusion of them in the care tasks. Faced with the lack of knowledge and under the premise that studying men and parents in adoption represents a contribution to advance policies and practices of greater responsibility and gender equality, this paper identifies, classifies and analyzes of the findings of studies on masculinity, paternity and adoption, making special emphasis on some results and topics on this phenomenon, in order to visualize some current challenges and prospects for research and psychosocial intervention.

Being a Resource for Both Mother and Child

The aim of this study was to describe fathers’ experiences of being present on a postnatal ward and during the first days at home following a complicated birth. Fifteen fathers were interviewed, and content analysis was used for the analysis. The theme illustrated that fathers were a resource for both mother and child through practical and emotional engagement. The categories describe how the father empowers the mother and illustrates adapting to new family roles. Following complicated birth, fathers should be invited to stay around-the-clock on postnatal wards because it gives them the opportunity to place their resources at the disposal of mother and child. In antenatal courses, fathers should be prepared for their empowering role after a complicated birth.