Trushali
- 10 August 2026
How being adopted from Russia in 1997 has changed my life | ITV News West Country
Marina Jenkins
Journalist, ITV News West Country
Sunday 9 August 2026 at 9:02am
The word adoption has played a big part in my life.
It is a word that has always meant a lot to me, but also something that I have wanted to find out more about.
So, to confront my past and to mark the centenary year of adoption being legalised in Britain, I set out on a journey to learn all about it.
Like every story, I wanted to start at the beginning.
My story
I was born in Russia in 1996. From my understanding, my birth mother was young and the decision was made to put me in an orphanage just outside of St Petersburg. My parents, Robert and Gillian, visited the orphanage four months later.
I turned over in my cot and gave them a smile. The decision was made. They adopted me in May 1997 and brought me back to London, when my new life began.
My parents have given me a wonderful life but as any adopted person will know, you always have questions about how and why you came into the world.
Perhaps one day, I will get those answers.
The history
As a reporter based in Plymouth, you can understand my surprise when historian Vanessa Nolan told me one of the real pioneers of adoption was down the road from me in Exeter.
Born in 1862, Clara Andrew worked with orphans and refugees in the city during the First World War. It inspired her to help children and she muscled her way into politics in the 1920s to encourage the legalisation of adoption.
On 4 August 1926, the Adoption Act was passed.
It might have started with the best of intentions, but in the decades that followed, pain and suffering was inflicted on countless women.
Between 1949 and 1976, up to a quarter of a million women were forced or coerced into giving up their babies simply because they were unmarried.
Speaking to Lyn Rodden, I was shocked to hear the true extent of the treatment of women in state or church-run institutions. In 1956, at seven months pregnant, Lyn was sent to Rosemundy Mother and Baby Home in Cornwall.
Lyn described the cruelty she faced, having to scrubs the floors pregnant and being locked in her room while prospective parents came to look at the babies.
There was also unimaginable racism at the time. For Phil Frampton, who was a mixed raced baby born at Rosemundy, his notes deemed he was unadoptable because of his race. Phil grew up in orphanages and children’s homes.
In 2026, apologies came from the Government and the Church of England for their involvement in systemic failures. The Catholic Church apologised in 2016.
Lessons have been learnt since the forced adoption period, but different challenges present themselves today.
Pressures facing modern system
Throughout making this documentary I have met and interviewed such an inspiring group of people.
From speaking to social workers, Steve Darling MP and Dame Carol Homden, the Chief Executive of the charity Coram, it is clear the system today is under immense pressure.
Children today have far more complex needs, coming from homes where there may have been drug or alcohol misuse. This means adoptive parents are needing greater support.
But at the same time, there are simply not enough people coming forward to adopt for the increasing number of children entering the care system.
Perhaps people are concerned they might not be able to fulfil the needs of a child.
But as social worker Julia Neilson made it clear to me, there is no shame to ask for help if you adopt. In fact, it should be a given.
One mother bravely told me why she felt she had no choice but to put her baby up for adoption.
During our interview, ‘Sophia’ explained how she wanted to give her son a better life, considering what she could provide for him at the time.
I was incredibly moved by her strength, and kindness shown to her son’s adoptive parents.
Over the decades, as the world as opened up, so too has international adoptions.
Coram trustee and researcher Zoe Lambert eloquently explained how transracial adoptive families have to work that bit harder to understand and learn from each other.
Whether that is around the practicalities of hair and skin care, to much deeper conversations appreciating each other’s backgrounds and cultural differences.
I often describe life as a beautiful jigsaw puzzle and if you are adopted, you may always have a piece or two missing in your story.
It has been truly wonderful to make these connections and discuss at length, adoption and identity, what is means to find out the answers to long-awaited questions and if closure is ever really possible.
Yes, the are problems within the modern system and memories of the past are still very much alive for some.
But it is clear that there are a lot of good people out there, just wanting to help children and make their futures better.
Click here to watch Marina’s documentary Bonds Beyond Birth: 100 Years of Adoption