Dear birth mother

After years of fertility treatments and waiting for the right man, Suzanne decided to adopt.

As a single woman in her forties, she opted for a trans-racial adoption.

There are a huge number of African-American children waiting for a new home in the US that agencies even offer a discount on fees in order to get them placed with a family.

Trans-racial adoptions can be controversial on both sides of the racial divide and parents who do adopt children from a different cultural heritage, can be subject to prejudice.

The baby that Suzanne adopted was from a young 23 year old mother of four children, who as a matter of circumstance could not keep her youngest.

This documentary follows Suzanne through all the stage of the adoption process.

From taking workshops designed to "teach white people to raise kids of colour," to shopping for her new baby and finally to the moment when she becomes a mother.

First broadcast Friday 19th June 2009

This documentary was produced by Dan Collison and Elizabeth Meister of Long Haul Productions, Michigan, USA.