Thursday, November 6, 2008

MORE ABOUT MATERNITY HOSPITALS

The Minneapolis Maternity Hospital opened in 1886. This is the report the following year. Let's look at its mission.

Maternity Hospital is a lying-in hospital for the confinement of married women, who are without means or suitable abode and care at the time of child birth. It also admits to its shelter unfortunate girls, who, under promise of marriage have been led astray.

These girls are not of the vicious or abandoned classes; most of them are young women of good moral and religious training, and who cherish both virtue and and reputation, but who in a moment of over-confiding weakness have fallen.

No hospital in the city admits an unmarried woman for confinement, no matter what the circumstances may have been. It is obvious on a moment's consideration, that it is much better for these patients to have a separate hospital devoted entirely to such cases, than to have only a ward in the general hospital. There should be a distinction made between those who are living a life of shame, and those who are often "more sinning against than sinning. To the latter, Maternity Hospital opens its doors, cares for them in every way as far as possibly watches over them after they have left.

Old Trunks wonders how many young girls were shuffled off to a hospital some where to have their babies. It truly saddens me to think the family found this to be the only choice. How frightened these young girls must have been. Why did parents send them away? Was it shame on the family? And what really makes me mad is, the sperm donor is free to go impregnate again.

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1 comment:

Unknown said...

Omg! This angers me! Why would anyone under any circumstances, put their child in an institution such as this? If they're put away, hidden..it's as if they were lepers!
What's the old saying? There but, by the grace of God, go I? Ok that's not quite the way the quote goes, but it's still shameful!
What about the fathers of these children? What happened to them? They were coerced, or some such nonsense?
A special hospital, to keep these girls away from the rest of society? That's a smart idea? They've already been banished from their homes probably. It just wouldn't do to let anyone know that these girls had been "bad"?
OK. I'll get off my soap box and quit.
It's no damn wonder that women have been considered second class citizens with this mentality! I'm surprised we ever got the right to vote!