PASADENA, Calif., April 26 (UPI) -- British and U.S. researchers said the chances of adoption dramatically decrease after a baby is born.
Researchers at the London School of Economics and the California Institute of Technology and New York University said parents appear to favor babies who are close to being born as compared to babies already been born or early in gestation.
The researchers found non-African-American babies are seven times more likely to be chosen than African-American babies, and girls had slightly more than one-third higher chance than boys of attracting the attention of those seeking to adopt.
The study data came from a Web site run by an adoption intermediary who matched parents and birth mothers between 2004 to 2009.
"With biological children, the literature shows that there's a slight but significant preference for boys over girls," co-author Leeat Yariv of California Institute of Technology said in statement. "But, in adoption, there's a very strong preference for girls over boys."
The study is at hss.caltech.edu/~lyariv/Papers/Adoption.pdf.
