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Journalist Xinran has collected the stories of Chinese mothers who have lost their baby daughters.

Many of these girls have been adopted overseas, by around 120-thousand families in 27 countries, including Australia, but others have suffered a worse fate.

The 'One Child' policy is just one of the reasons for unwanted babies, but negative attitudes to girls go back to ancient times.

Xinran, a radio broadcaster who moved from China to London in 1997, is the author of the bestseller The Good Women of China.

Now she脗麓s written Message from an unknown Chinese mother, a project she began in Sydney two years ago.

This interview was first broadcast on 23 February 2010.