The Heartbreaking Reason This Mother Gave Away Her 3rd Child

Within moments of working with six sisters, all of whom have painful issues with their mother, Iyanla knows she must go straight to the source to uncover the pathology at the root of the family dysfunction. Fifty-year-old Alicia may be the family matriarch, but her past behavior has resulted in her six adult daughters viewing her as anything but motherly.

Speaking about her past, Alicia reveals to Iyanla that she gave birth to her first two daughters, Shay and Kisha, while still in high school. When Alicia got pregnant for a third time with middle child Preccious, she felt overwhelmed and decided to give Preccious away when she was just 7 months old.

"I didn't want, you know, to be hindered by another newborn baby," Alicia explains to Iyanla.

Iyanla drops her head. "Please tell me you did not tell Miss Preccious you did not want to be hindered," she says.

"Well, I didn't want the responsibility," Alicia says. "It was the truth, though. I couldn't give them what I didn't have."

"I get that, but what they need is nurturing," Iyanla says. "It's not good enough for you to say to your children, 'It is what it is.' That's not good enough, Mama. So, we're going to have to come up with something a little better than that."

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