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🇸🇪 Sweden /Culture & Society

Found Mother After 45 Years: Adopted Woman Discovers She Was Taken From Parents

From Svenska Dagbladet · () Swedish

Translated from Swedish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Sources not specified Outcome reported
  • Gabriela, adopted from Brazil to Sweden at six months old, discovered through a DNA test that she was taken from her parents, not abandoned as she was told.
  • After a six-year search, a DNA match with a cousin led to a video call with her biological mother and siblings, confirming their relationship.
  • Now 45, Gabriela has reunited with her mother and siblings in Brazil, describing the experience as feeling like coming home after a long period of uncertainty.

For 45 years, Gabriela lived with the belief that she was an abandoned infant found in a basket, adopted from Brazil to Sweden. The story she was told by her adoptive family was that a pastor and nuns cared for her before she was picked up by the Dutch lawyer handling her adoption.

It was like coming home.

— GabrielaGabriela describes her feelings upon reuniting with her biological family in Brazil.

Her search for her origins began six years ago with a DNA test on MyHeritage. When initial matches didn't yield results, she posted on Facebook. Mentioning the lawyer's name in a post led her to a report about illegal adoptions, where the same lawyer discussed facilitating registrations for children "obtained at a clinic." This discovery shattered her long-held beliefs and plunged her into an identity crisis.

She had been told by her adoptive family that she was found in a basket in a priest's garden. Newborn, naked and wrapped in a torn blanket.

— GabrielaGabriela recounts the story she was told about her origins.

Last spring, a new DNA match with a cousin in the Netherlands provided a crucial breakthrough. The cousin knew of a family member lost through an illegal adoption and helped Gabriela connect with her biological mother and siblings via video call. Seeing siblings with similar eyes, Gabriela felt a strong connection, but she awaited definitive proof.

Then I started to give up hope, this is not going to work. So I went through an identity crisis and a bit of depression.

— GabrielaGabriela describes her emotional state after learning about the possibility of illegal adoption.

In July 2025, a DNA test from her mother confirmed their relationship. "It's a process, because so many years have passed without me knowing," Gabriela said. She recently traveled to Brazil with her daughter for a tearful reunion with her half-sister's family at the airport, finally feeling like she had come home.

It stated that I had a match with a cousin in the Netherlands and that he had sent me a message. I was shocked, it was surreal.

— GabrielaGabriela reacts to the DNA match that led her to her biological family.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Svenska Dagbladet in Swedish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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