Has anyone heard of "hotboxing" in regards to uncooperative "birth" mothers?

Question

I recently came across information on the WEB about a technique called "hotboxing" that is used to handle a woman who refuses to sign relinquishment papers after the child's birth. Has anyone heard of this? Is it a standard practice used by adoption agencies/lawyers to deal with uncooperative mothers?

Answer 1

I have never heard the term but I recognize the actions as explained on the other answers. Yes, this happens. People including the PAP's can use guilt, phoney sympathy and anger to make sure the mother follows the adoption plan. This was VERY common in the closed adoption era where nuns in maternity homes would make an unwed mom feel horrible about herself and make her think she deserved the pain. And later the BM's parents could shame her into placing. Things have come a long way in the last 15 years. But make no mistake, it still happens. It is not common practice and it is a horrible, HORRIBLE thing to do that will scar a woman for life. These woman are out there and not hard to find. The adoptions are near immpossible to get overturned.

Answer 2

Can you tell us exactly what it is, please?

Answer 3

I have never heard of this and I can't imagine any real adoption agencies doing anything to coerce a birth mother.  That would endanger the adoption's validity and would cause more problems than just an initial disruption.

Answer 4

No, I've never heard of this. I agree with another poster that it sounds like an awful interrogation tactic. Only in this case brainwashing. Awful.

Do you have a link we can read?

Answer 5

Darn those mothers who want to keep their own kids!  Only the adoption industry would think of "hotboxing" for them.  As another poster mentioned...this sounds like some sort of torture.

Answer 6

Never heard of it.  Sounds like something the CIA would do to interrogate a terrorist suspect.

But if it is, what it sounds, I seriously doubt it is "standard practice."  I've never said that coersion tactics don't ever happen, but I refuse to believe that it is standard operating procedure to harass or coerce a first mother into relinquishing.

Answer 7

It sounds like what happened to Allison Quets.

They put her in a room for 11 hours with some adoption attorneys and no breaks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allison_Lee...

Disgusting.

Answer 8

Ahhhhh let's see  

"Save the terrorists but not the birth mothers"?

Happy mommy is indeed correct that is what hotboxing is....

it is a coercive tactic and may still be used by the CIA today.. It is purposely meant to intimidate.

Answer 9

It sounds like the same term used by Schools when the don't want to offer services for special needs kids.... They Gather several people on one side and box a person into the Groups Idea..... It's more like Professional Ganging Up..... and putting a "person" in a box with no way out.

Answer 10

No, I have never heard of it and I don't believe it is a standard practice used by agencies.

Answer 11

No, I haven't heard of it.  What does it entail?  It certainly needs to be brought to the public's attention!

Answer 12

when i was in my teens hotboxing was what you called it when you were in a car with all the windows rolled up and all but one person was getting high... the other person would be getting " hotboxed"

Answer 13

I've never heard it with regards to adoption.  I've always heard of it as a tactic to get "high"...one person smoking pot in an enclosed area to hold in the smoke while the others get "high" from the smoke.  

I wonder if it is meant like the term "blowing smoke" when used with adoption.  I'll be interested to hear if anyone has a definitive answer.

Answer 14

I knew it happened but I never knew it had a name. Wow, how awful.