Joy White, center, birth mother of Carlina White, exits a...

Joy White, center, birth mother of Carlina White, exits a hotel with two unidentified women. White's baby, Carlina, was abducted in 1987. (Jan. 20, 2011) Credit: AP

The birth mother of a 23-year-old woman snatched from a Manhattan hospital when she was an infant says their reunion was a miracle but their relationship is difficult.

Joy White told NBC "Today" on Tuesday that she and Carlina White are like strangers. She says she wants to spend time with her so they can get to know each other.

But White says she understands why her daughter, who lives in Atlanta, would want to continue her relationship with her adoptive family. She says it’s because they’re the ones who raised her and that’s all she knows.

Ann Pettway is being held without bail on charges she kidnapped Carlina from Harlem Hospital in August 1987. The FBI says the Raleigh, N.C., woman took the newborn after her own efforts at childbearing failed.

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