Story: Adoption

Pregnant women, Bethany, 1964

Pregnant women, Bethany, 1964

In the past, unmarried women who became pregnant often left their home towns so their condition would not become publicly known. The Salvation Army's Bethany maternity homes provided these women with a place to live and then give birth, once they had reached the third trimester of pregnancy. They could stay for up to two weeks after the birth. These women are in the Bethany home in Wellington in August 1964. All but one of the 15 residents planned to give their children up for adoption.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Dominion Post Collection (PAColl-7327)
Reference: EP/1964/2653/15

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Anne Else, 'Adoption - Adoption and single mothers – 1960s and 1970s', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/26052/pregnant-women-bethany-1964 (accessed 19 March 2024)

Story by Anne Else, published 5 May 2011, reviewed & revised 18 Apr 2018