‘I have a daughter and she’s someone else’s daughter’

When Rose* hears her daughter call another woman “mummy” she feels reassured that the decision to give her up for adoption 13 years ago was the right one. Back then, Rose, abandoned by her partner soon after giving birth, felt adoption was the only way her daughter could have a better future. But she wanted to remain part of her life. “I have a daughter, and she’s someone else’s daughter as well. She calls me ‘mummy’ too… You can’t get possessive over the word… I have no regrets. She is being brought up so well,” Rose says, admitting that her positive feeling may be due to the fact that she never lost touch with Alexia*, her daughter. Anna* and her husband, who adopted Alexia, feel that Rose is part of their extended family and have no problem with her being part of their life. Both women have acted in Alexia’s best interest and feel that open adoption worked beautifully for them and could work for others. Over 450 children live in out-of-home care, which means they don’t live with their biological parents, according to the State social agency, Appoġġ. As things stand today, children need the consent of their biological parents to be put up for adoption save for extreme cases. At...