Deja View : An Updated Look at Some of the Stories Featured Here During the Year : Private Adoptions: : 2 Families Celebrate First Holidays With Baby Boys

Two young pregnant women, Susan and Laura, who traveled from the Midwest to the San Fernando Valley to give up their babies for private adoptions, were the subject of a story in June. Both adoptions were arranged by Santa Monica attorney Karen Lane.

The women, who had left small hometowns where most people did not know of their pregnancies, received financial support from the adoptive parents for their living and medical expenses.

“The girls were able to spend a lot of time with the adoptive parents, getting to know them and learning enough about them to feel comfortable giving their child up,” said Lane, who each month helps arrange for several pregnant women to leave their homes and move to the Valley in preparation for giving their babies up for adoption.

After the article appeared, Susan and Laura, both in their early 20s, gave birth to healthy boys before returning home. Both women were comfortable with the couples adopting their babies, and they probably have returned to a life similar to before their pregnancies, Lane said.

“They had school to finish and their whole lives ahead of them,” Lane said.

Meanwhile, both adoptions recently became final, and the adoptive families, both of whom live in the Valley, are flourishing.

“The holidays have been very special in those homes because of the addition of a brand-new baby boy,” she said.