Social Change - Forced Adoptions
WHO
WHEN
WHERE
WHAT
WHY
What is a single mother? Single motherhood is the act of caring for a child or infant and a single parent (mother). In this case Francis Willoughby's mother, Adelaide was a single mother, but had to give up her baby for adoption because otherwise, she would have been mistreated for growing up a child without the presence of a man.
What happened to children after they were given up for adoption? Many babies, who had been given up for adoption moved from the hospital, after they had been deemed healthy enough, to orphanages. This is where adults could adopt a child. However, most of the time, not all children were adopted such as Francis Willoughby, who lived at his orphanage until he was of age to leave.
HOW
Where were unwed expectant mothers placed under care in Adelaide? According to ABC News, "from 1880 to 1910, unwed, widowed and deserted expectant mothers were shunned, treated like criminals and often imprisoned at Adelaide's Lying-In (maternity) Hospital".
Where was Adelaide's Maternity Hospital located? The hospital was built within the grounds of the Destitute Asylum in the city's CBD.
Was Francis Willoughby born in Adelaide's Maternity Hospital? Due to most unwed pregnant mothers being moved mandatory, it is most likely that Francis' mother, Adelaide, was moved to this hospital, and is therefore likely that Francis was born there.
How many babies were born at the Adelaide Lying-In Hospital during its 30 years running? A total of 1,678 babies were born on the site.
On the 8th of May, 2016, all of the 1,678 babies names were read as an exhibition for Mother's Day.
Is the Adelaide Lying-In Hospital still there? Today, the building still stands, but is used as the Adelaide Migration Museum.
How long did the mothers have to stay for after the birth of their child? Once admitted, the women were required to remain at the hospital for another 6 months so that the staff could keep an eye on both the women (because many of them were so young) and their babies health.
When did Adelaide's Lying-In Hospital open? This hospital for young unwed pregnant ladies was opened in 1880 and closed in 1910.
Who generally went to the Adelaide Maternity Hospital? About 90.9% of the time, pregnant women went there, but the other 9.1% was made up of children and very rarely, men.
What were unwed expectant mothers treated like back in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century? Unwed, widowed and deserted expectant mothers were shunned, treated like criminals and often imprisoned at Hospitals. However, during Francis Willoughby's time fighting in Gallipoli, the social behaviour of people towards shunning unwed mothers was almost eradicated like a virus.
What are unwed pregnant women treated like today in the 21st Century? Today, many expectant mothers are praised for raising a child by themselves and are seen as 'strong' for being able to raise a child by themselves, without the help of a male/partner. This just represents one portion of how much social change has happened around single expectant mothers.
Did it continue? The short answer to this is yes. This social behaviour continued throughout the 20th Century in different parts of the world, including Australia, especially in the 1950's, where hospitals like the ones metioned before were still in operation.
Why were women treated differently for wanting to raise a child by themselves/ being an unwed expectant mother? Women were treated differently for wanting to raise a bay on their own because of sexism. Most men believed that they weren't strong enough to look after babies they thought that raising babies should have the presence of a man. I addition, many females worked at home, doing chores because they didn't hve jobs, so otheres believed that thewomen would not be able to raise them accordingly.
What if a man wanted to raise a baby by himself, was that acceptable? If am man wanted to raise baby, it was "ok". However, many also believed that raising a baby needed the presence of a women so that the men didn't have to do all of the chores and/or look after the baby so much. eg. feeding the baby.
Why did the social behavior change around this topic? It didn't completely change immediatly, but towards the end of the 20th Century, this socil behavouir changed because many people's social behavouir, attitude and thought's on sexism changed.
When did it continue in the 20th Century? After many thought that this problem was somehow eradicated, it started to happen again, and more often between the 1950's to 1970's. According to Crikey.com, "About 150,000 babies were put up for adoption" in this time period.
How did the social behaviour of people change according to the mistreatment of unwed pregnant women? The social behaviour of everyone in Adelaide changed for many reasons. Some include activists, word of mouth (females used gossip to spread rumours that would change others minds after a while), some men being tried for desertion of their wife and expectant baby as well as many more.
Who had to give up their babies? Unwed/Widowed/Deserted expectant mothers had to give up their babies under the practice of "Force Adoptions". This involved coercion and institutional policies that encouraged babies to be taken away from their mothers if she was deserted by her partner, widowed or unmarried.
What is the "Forced Adoption practice?Unwed/Widowed/Deserted expectant mothers had to give up their babies under the practice of "Force Adoptions". This involved coercion and institutional policies that encouraged babies to be taken away from their mothers if she was deserted by her partner, widowed of unmarried.