She was adopted in caldwell county nc between 1949 - 1952

Your birth mother's birth certificate or your adopted mother's birth certificate?

I think it was the mother that was adopted, J, and she's looking for biological grandparents and thinks that she will see them listed on a birth certificate.

When a child is adopted, the birth certificate is legally changed, and you cannot access prior birth certificates.

Your mother needs to be the one to initiate a search, unless she is deceased and you are searching for medical information. She can do so by contacting the adoption agency used or by registering on reunion websites.