Mother And Babies Homes

[EcclesCake]

Whilst reading the paper and noodling on here I've been watching a rerun of George Gently.

The episode features a mother and baby home in the '60's, it is quite a revelation to me how these young women and their babies were treated.

I am quite confident that it is reasonably accurate portrayal as I have a good friend who was institutionalised by her father for getting pregnant in her teens during the sixties.

Can anyone give a different perspective on how it was?

[tonyav]

My sixteen year old aunt ( early 1960's ) went on her hols, well thats what the adults in my family told me when I used to ask where she was ( I was around 7 years old ). It seemed to be a very long holiday, I had a cousin when she came back from her 'holiday'. I found out much later in life that she had been sent to a mother and baby home. She did marry the father a year later though.

[Meg]

!968, I was 15, with a boyfriend, he got me "up the duff" parents were horrified, options were marriage or abortion. I chose to marry him and keep the baby. Nearly 50 years on we are still together said baby is a very clever man. We produced 2 other sons who both have a good academic score. I won't say all the years have been happy but life has its












I got "up the duff" in the late 60's, I was 15, okay, my parents had money, but marriage or abortion were the options, I could not consider abortion, I married the guy, nearly 50 years later we are still together, child in question is now a PHD and we have 2 other very clever offsprings, I'm lucky!!

[LyndaB]

A friend of mine was sent off to a mother and baby home to have her baby, keep it with her for a few weeks and then have the baby adopted - and this was as late as 1973

[cupotee2]

I would like to add to my story a few posts back.

My Mother was 3 months pregnant when she married my Dad, yet the fuss they made when I became pregnant is laughable now.

It was a case of do as I say not do as I do.

[ummmm]

So glad I was born in the 70s to liberal parents.

I had my first child, unmarried, at the age of 18. She was something to be adored, not ashamed of.

I split with her father a few years later but him and his family have played a massive role in her life...even though they're in a different country.

[jno]

cupotee, I've been doing some family history research and it turns out my family have been having "premature" first children on a regular basis since the 1600s!