In 1966 I Was An "Unwed Mother" |
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I am an Exiled Mother. My newborn was removed from me in 1966 because I was "Unwed." I was first sent to two "wage homes" where I worked for strangers cleaning, cooking and babysitting. I did not receive a wage. Then when I was seven months pregnant, I was sent as an "inmate" to live at the Washington, D.C. Florence Crittenton maternity "home."
We were not taught what to expect from
pregnancy, labor or delivery. Why? To keep us terrified. When I went into labor that July I was taken by taxi to the hospital and told to go in (alone) and tell them that, "I'm from the Home." I labored and gave birth with no relative or employee from the "home" to give me support. I was not allowed to feel the contractions. My baby was forced from me using heavy sedation and Pitocin within six hours... an unusual and violent event for a first time mother. I was seventeen years old. We went back to the "home" together by taxi that same morning. She had been born at 2:30 am.
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