childcare-50years

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parent, at that time. I dreaded and loathed being involved
in these situations. On a few occasions, thankfully not very
often, I was called to a house to be confronted by such a
situation. On arrival, I was told, usually by a distraught
mother but sometimes by both parents, that they had just
become aware that their daughter was pregnant. They had
younger children at home and they did not want them or
any of the neighbours to know of their daughter's
dilemma. I was then asked to make arrangements for the
daughter to go somewhere discreet where she and the
baby could be cared for until after childbirth. They almost
always insisted that the baby be placed for adoption, or, at
least, that it should not under any circumstances, be
brought back to the family home. The young woman
herself was seldom consulted on these occasions. It was a
very difficult situation and any suggestion that the young
woman might stay at home would be met with incredulity
and anger. It was my practice to try to comfort and support
the young mother as best I could, but usually she was so
distressed and ashamed that she too, at this stage, just
wanted to get away from all the hysteria at home as
quickly as possible. I felt quite inadequate in such
circumstances. An order of religious sisters would usually
care for mother and child for as long as was necessary ...
The father of the child or the existence of such an
individual, was seldom mentioned". Daly, 2002
From 1960-67 the annual marriage rate climbed steadily but after the
introduction of the Legal Aid Scheme in 1966, the number of divorces
suddenly doubled. The rate of illegitimate births also increased.
Adoption orders almost doubled from 231 in 1960 to 415 in 1967. In
view of the decrease in the numbers of children boarded-out during
this period, O'Halloran (1994) suggests that the rise in adoption
reflected increases in stepparent adoptions within reconstituted
families and adoptions of relinquished infants rather than adoptions
of children in statutory care. The numbers of infant adoptions
continued to increase until well into the 1970s.
50 YEARS OF CHILD CARE IN NORTHERN IRELAND
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