Los usos de la Inclusa de Madrid, mortalidad y retorno a ... - CSIC

Chapter 1
have documented a tendency to report consecutively children with common origin and
time of admission: first those coming from the Maternity Hospital, followed by those
abandoned during the night, etc.
Table 1.1 shows the number of cases checked for notes in each year. Cases with no
note, certificate or no additional information only amounted to 7-12%.
[Table 1.1. Sample of cases whose personal file was checked].
Table 1.1. Sample of cases whose personal file was checked.
1900 1910 1915 1920 1930
Total not from Maternity Hospital 566 484 505 566 595
Checked 111 95 505 112 114
Percentage 19.61% 19.63% 100% 19.79% 19.16%
Source: ARCM. Own elaboration.
Information collected for each of the checked files was very different. For those
which presented some document, we specified the type (note, priest certificate, refuge
certificate, etc.), the declared cause of abandonment, the way in which name and
surnames were mentioned, legitimacy status, document signee, and the presence of
additional “signs” to identify the child for a future reclamation.
1.3.1.3. The 1915 sample
In view of the complexity of infant abandonment and the difficulty of its study
only through admission records, we systematically collected the other sources related to
admissions occurred in one specific year available in the Regional Archive. We
attempted to capture a snapshot of abandonment through the full understanding of the
mothers’ circumstances. We chose 1915 for several reasons: a) the richness of the data
available for that period, including new information not available for previous years; b)
its being at the centre of our study period; and c) coincidence with the production of the
quinquennial Listing of inhabitants (Padrón). Information came from two sources: the
FHM and the Listing of inhabitants carried out by Madrid Town Hall. The information
from the Individual Admission Files from the FHM was collected, adding the details
pertaining to notes, abandonment circumstances, and the additional information
included in the birth documents produced by the Maternity Hospital (which included
job, ability to sign, and city address). As these details were of particular interest, we
increased the sample by including those born in 1916 in the Maternity Hospital.
[Table 1.2. Situations found when searching for women giving birth in the Maternity Hospital during the
period 1915-1916 in the 1915 listing of inhabitants].
Table 1.2. Situations found when searching for women giving birth in the
Maternity Hospital during the period 1915-1916 in the 1915 listing of inhabitants.
Possibilities N %
No address 7 0.34%
Address in a village 283 13.57%
Complete address in Madrid 1,796 86.10%
Mothers giving birth in the Maternity Hospital in 1915-1916 2,086 100%
Not found 1,355 75.45%
Found 327 18.21%
Not sufficient address to search 114 6.35%
Women searched in 1915 listing of inhabitants 1,796 100%
Source: ARCM and 1915 listing of inhabitants. Own elaboration.
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