Mothers of ‘The Bastard Child’

Abstract

This chapter examines how women reacted to pregnancies and births outside marriage, and what happened to them and their children. It first discusses the legislative context in which women bore their illegitimate children, then their pregnancies, childbirths, and initial responses to their infants. Secondly, it examines how single mothers managed to both work and bring up their children, and what support they could draw on. The parish was important, but not all poor single mothers were assisted by parish welfare. Finally, the chapter assesses evidence about single mothers and older children to suggest how these families of mothers and children survived and to discuss whether this can be read as evidence of care and affection.