1st Edition

Mother and Baby Homes A Survey of Homes for Unmarried Mothers

By Jill Nicholson Copyright 1968
    156 Pages
    by Routledge

    156 Pages
    by Routledge

    During the 1960s there had been much discussion about the plight of the unmarried mother and her child; but very little of it had been based on fact. At the time Mother and Baby Homes catered for between 11,000 and 12,000 unmarried mothers each year, out of a total of 70,000; but there was hardly one generalisation that would be applicable to all the Homes. Some were run by voluntary organisations, some by local authorities and some by religious groups. While some still retained the punitive attitude, others set themselves with much kindness to help the women – some of them mere schoolgirls, to face the difficulties of their position and to plan constructively for their own future and that of their babies. Originally published in 1968, this book gives the facts but, even more, it gives the feelings and ideas of those most concerned – the mothers-to-be and those who care for them.

    This is a careful and sensitive study. It was unique in putting on record for the first time the views of unmarried mothers themselves about the care they received. Everybody who is interested in the history of the health and welfare of the unmarried mother in residential care should read this book.

    Advisory Committee.  Acknowledgements.  Foreword.  1. Introduction  2. Residential Accommodation in England and Wales  3. The Survey  4. The Use and Scope of Mother and Baby Homes  5. The Residents in the Homes  6. The Material Standards  7. The Pattern of Daily Life  8. Rules  9. Relationships in the Homes  10. Staffing  11. Medical Care  12. The Care of the Babies  13. Religion in the Homes  14. Social Work in the Homes  15. Assessment and Conclusions.  List of Information Lodged at the National Council for the Unmarried Mother and Her Child and the National Institute for Social Work Training.  Bibliography and List of References.

    Biography

    Jill Nicholson