No abstract

The article discusses the circumstances of placing a child for adoption and its relation to the myth of maternal love. It examines the research related to this issue, questioning the idealization of motherhood expressed in the idea that every woman is "naturally" a mother. It also examines the justification commonly found in literature that perceives the act of placing a child for adoption as the result of difficulties associated with socioeconomic factors. It shows the relevance of the research on the subject involving different professionals who deal with this reality.

The subject of adoption is well-studied worldwide. In contrast, when it comes to women who give up their children for adoption, studies are far fewer. The present research aims to investigate how the myth of motherly love affects the ideas and conceptions concerning giving up a child for adoption from the perspective of the nursing professionals directly involved with these women. Also, the aim here is to interfere preventively with these professionals, raising awareness of the conceptions and prejudices related to giving up a child for adoption. Methodologically speaking, the research is designed as a qualitative research, based on the clinical method. The procedure was undertaken using group dynamics carried out with 19 professionals (nurses and nursing technicians). Participants performed a free association activity and continued with two fictional stories on giving up a child for adoption. The results indicate that the ideas derived from the myth of motherly love are indeed present in the professionals' subjectivity and influence their behavior and attitude towards these women. Additionally, financial difficulties and other factors external to these women are provided as the main reasons for giving a child for adoption. Additionally, the intention is also to minimize the negative effects on the psychic life of these women who give their children up for adoption as well as to provide these children with a more sustainable life project.