A British woman gave her child up for adoption and found him 57 years later (5 photos)

Paula Beer, from Bridgend, Wales, was just 17 when she made the painful decision to leave her son, but she spent decades searching for him.





Paula Beer with her son Jim

Fearing the reaction of her strict parents, the girl hid her situation by working long hours in a grocery store in nearby Porthcawl, and only saw a doctor when she was eight months pregnant.

She gave birth to her son Paul in February 1967 and spent only three days with him in hospital before he was taken away.

“I just looked at him, talked to him, hoped he would remember my voice, knew what I had to do, and loved him as much as I could,” Paula, 74, said.

The young mother independently decided to give her child up for adoption.

She said: "My father would have thrown me out in disgrace. I made the decision to give Paul up for adoption because he could have had a much better life, he would have had a very unhappy life with me and my parents."



Seven months pregnant, she went to stay with an aunt in Essex, a relative, and helped arrange the adoption.

“It was a very, very bad period in my life. This is the worst thing I had to do in my life,” the woman admits.

Subsequently, Paula got married and gave birth to a daughter, but the pain of separation from her firstborn did not subside.

“Every year on his birthday, I lit a candle, said a prayer and asked God: “Please, God, let me find him one day.”





Jim as a baby

Luckily, the Long Lost Family team tracked down Paula's son, whose name was changed to Jim.

It took the man several months to decide whether he wanted to communicate with his biological mother.

“It was a mixed spectrum of emotions, from happy to scary...” Jim commented.



Pensioner with TV presenter Davina McCall

Jim lives in the southwest of the country and works as a nurse in a psychiatric hospital. Just like his mother, he loves music and nature. He was glad that Paula was Welsh because he had spent a lot of time in Wales and loved it.

"My biggest fear was that he didn't want to see me and wouldn't date me. And that happens. So I'm very lucky. I thank God every day for my son."

Paula recalls the emotional reunion: "We sat down and he held my hands the whole time... It was amazing. He is the son I could only dream of. He has my personality, a new version of me. I feel like he been my son all my life."

After participating in the program, they video call several times a week.



Jim with TV presenter Nicky Campbell