The Home for Unwed Mothers

This bit of history, in and of itself, needs to be recognized and demands to be told. Young people today are incredulous to learn that birth control was not readily available to unmarried women, and most especially to minors. Eyebrows are raised over wide, open eyes when I share that my first child was born in a "home for unwed mothers." Listeners are aghast to learn that between WWII and 1973, a million and a half women surrendered children to adoption, caving into to family and social pressures. These young mothers were told they were unfit to raise their own children. They were told they must never speak the truth about where they had been. Their adoptions were closed, and they would never again have contact with their lost children. 

In 1970-1971, I spent five months at the Salvation Army Booth Memorial Hospital. There I bonded with dozens of pregnant women, mostly teenagers, who like me, had been banished from their homes, and were sent away to hide their sins and their shame.

There are varied and sundry stories about these homes. Many are terrifying, and at the very least, most are profoundly sad. I did not want to go away. I was filled with fear over leaving the only home I had ever known. I did not want to leave behind the boy that I loved....the father of my unborn child. But, the choice was not mine to make.

For me, the home became my respite from the storm that my home life had become. My parents were furious with me. My boyfriend rejected the idea of marriage. I could confide in no one, and discussing the changes that were happening to my body and in my mind was forbidden. 

My recently published memoir, Choiceless: A Birthmother's Story of Love, Loss and Reunion includes a retelling of what it was like for me.

Salvation Army Booth Memorial Hospital, Wauwatosa, WI