Illegitimacy
The Unmarried Mother and Her Child. By Virginia Wimperis. (Allen and Unwin, 35s.)
IN Britain today there are well over a million persons living in fatherless families—a figure made up of nearly half a million widowed, divorced, separated and unmarried mothers and nearly three-quarters of a million dependent children. A large proportion receive national assistance. We know all too little about their lives and problems and about the varied treatment accorded them by society. In a long and informa- tive report Virginia Wimperis helps to fill in one gap in our knowledge, and much of the detail she provides is fascinating. But though author can justifiably claim that a good deal hard evidence needs to be collected, her con sions are less incisive than they might For example, it seems from a few studies fortt nearly half the mothers giving birth to illegitirn3v children are living with men they are not ablet. marry. This applies particularly to the 1)06 classes. Either the father or the mother el get a divorce and plainly, if the family is a staff one, they should have the right, and the the3y to legalise their union. By comparison with a number of Ewer° countries Britain is backward in other respe: It could guarantee an adequate allowance for hci maintenance of both the child and the motu and safeguard their legal and financial intel through a special family court or service. It co provide better day nurseries, modern mother baby homes and special flatlets for unniarrl mothers, all of which is done in Scandinavia'ir strong argument could also be made for Sta action to legalise abortion in certain instances. to make it easier for individuals to obtain 410'11' tion in birth control. At present the unmarried mother gets too little help with her many problems. She delays seltij advice about her pregnancy and often has to somewhere to go in the last weeks before tutr,t child is born. She may get into a second-11; mother and baby home or even one of the workhouses still run by many local authoritl'i When the baby is born she is often forced to sened. lodgings and paid work before she has regal her strength. 'Many landladies do not waof babies, and a young mother who is suspectedt} being unmarried and penniless is rarely 3 1440! come lodger.' A young girl may suddenly herself tramping the streets looking for a No' nad, ttYing to manage both a paid job and a young h °Y. It is almost imposSible for her to obtain a eh4,sonable affiliation order for the support of her and the meagre payments often fall ser- in a°11:1Y into arrears. Unless she can marry with ,lew short months she may feel there is no alternative but to get her child adopted. While adoption may often be in the interests of both cither and child the fact remains that there is i"i t Present too little real 'freedom of choice.
It is doubtful whether some of the reforms that are necessary could be introduced for unmar- ried mothers alone. Social insurance might be extended to cover the maintenance of separated and divorced wives who are bringing up young children as well as of unmarried mothers. A family allowance might be introduced for the first child. But in all of these ways the apparatus of welfare should be brought into line with the
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