The purpose of this study was to understand the phenomenon of adoptive nesting for adoptive mothers as they work to create a maternal identity and prepare for the arrival of a child by way of adoption. Adoptive nesting is defined as the emotional, psychological, relational, physical, practical, and spiritual process of preparing to bring a child into one's home by way of adoption. Since the process of becoming a mother is not the same for adoptive mothers as for biological mothers, this acknowledged difference may inhibit adoptive parents from knowing how to or having permission to participate in the symbolic process of preparing for motherhood, and, in turn, developing a maternal identity. The goal of this study was to explore the lived experiences of adoptive mothers as they reflected on their preparation process of becoming an adoptive mother and the complexities they experienced as they participated in the nonnormative process of becoming a mother through adoption.

The phenomenon of adoptive nesting was explored as it related to the lived experiences of six adoptive mothers. Each participant engaged in two semi-structured interviews, and four of the participants also took part in a group interview. A hermeneutic phenomenological methodology was used to analyze the transcripts and memos. Findings from the study indicated that the process of preparing for motherhood for adoptive mothers is different from the process for biological mothers, but equally important. The concept of adoptive nesting provided a lens for the participants to make sense of their experience of preparing for adoptive motherhood and validated the importance of symbolically preparing for motherhood in a nonnormative way.