Butterbox Babies
"Lovely Babies For Adoption" is what the advertisement for the Ideal MaternityHome and Sanitarium versed to many couples unable to bear children beginning in thelate 1920's. Although the ad held true as to the children, the operation of this businesswas far from lovely. Originally designed as a sanitarium for the sick, the hospital soonbecame a birthing facility. Operating without any supervision, the facility was a place ofjoy for couples adopting an infant, but a place of shame and despair for unwed mothers. Lila Gladys Coolen met and married William Peach Young in 1925. William wasan unordained seventh-day Adventist minister and Lila, also of the same faith, was ateacher in Fox Point, Nova Scotia. After being married, the couple left Nova Scotia toreturn to school in Chicago. William attended the National College of Chiropractic,while Lila pursued a degree at the National School of Obstetrics and Midwifery. InFebruary of 1928, the Youngs opened The Life and Health Sanitarium out of their fourbedroom cottage. Lila began delivering babies and within a year, the facility had beenrenamed The Ideal Maternity Home and Sanitarium and it's sole purpose became a
It read: "Dame gossip has sent many young lives to perdition after ruining them socially, that might have been BRIGHT STARS in society and a POWER in the world of usefulness HAD THEY BEEN SHIELDED from the gossip when they made a mistake" (Cahill 1992)Desperate to succeed in a closed minded society, unwed mothers were reeled in by whatappeared to be sensitivity to their mishap. This brought a huge profit for the Youngs, and a booming business. On November 17, 1945, the Ideal Maternity Home was ordered closed, and the"Butterbox Babies" tragedy came to an end. Women alsoadmitted to lying on adoption papers and even posing as nurses for health inspectorsvisits. Contracts had to be signed uponadmittance giving William Young the power of attorney and legal authority over theinfant and it's adoption. With their business well on it's way, a whole new, wealthyadoption market opened. Pediatricians inspections testified to "striking overcrowding", "fly-fillednurseries", and "malnourished children". These infants were fed only molasses and water,which caused them to survive a mere two weeks, if that. Out of the 1,400 to 1,600 babies born at the home, only about 1,000 wereactually adopted out. A newspaper advertisement placed by the Youngs, was carefully writtenand geared to lure women in. This drew many couples from the New Yorkand New Jersey area, especially Jews. The Youngs were becoming known as the "Baby Barons ofEast Chester". Unwed mothers not only paid for their secret in shame and grief, but also intremendous fees. The cost to mothers averaged three to five hundred dollars for roomand board, delivery, and adoption of their baby. They werecompletely naive thinking their acts would never catch up with them.
Common topics in this essay:
Home Sanitarium,
BRIGHT STARS,
York Jersey,
Act Health,
Butterbox Babies,
East Chester,
William Peach,
Nova Scotia,
Health Sanitarium,
Maternity Home,
unwed mothers,
ideal maternity home,
ideal maternity,
maternity home,
bedroom cottage,
nova scotia,
licensing laws,
birthing facility,
home sanitarium,
butterbox babies,
maternity home sanitarium,
|
Acceptance Essays
