Full Breakdown
Campaign for Answers Over Forced Adoptions in UK Mother-and-Baby Homes
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Diana Defries’ Call for Transparency
Former mother-and-baby home resident Diana Defries, who was placed at Nazareth House in Southampton at age 16 in 1974, has pressed the government to grant families broader access to records of the UK’s mother-and-baby homes. Defries, the lead advocate behind the state apology for forced adoptions, argues that opening archival material would help families piece together what happened to children taken from their mothers.
Historical Setting of Mother-and-Baby Homes
The Catholic Sisters of Nazareth operated a network of residential care facilities known as “Nazareth Houses.” The mother-and-baby wing at the Southampton location opened in 1960 and closed in 1985. Funded jointly by Southampton social services and fees paid by families of residents, these homes placed many pregnant teenagers and young women under institutional care, often resulting in the forced adoption of their infants. Historian Dr Michael Lambert of Lancaster University notes that privately held archives of religious congregations could be crucial for reconstructing this period of social history.
Scope of the Institutions
Local media reported that by the time the Southampton home closed, it had housed 1,552 women and girls. Investigations have uncovered unmarked graves of children who died in Nazareth Houses and similar institutions run by other religious orders across the UK, underscoring the scale of the hidden legacy.
Official Responses
The government’s formal apology for forced adoptions was welcomed by the Sisters of Nazareth. Sister Anna Maria Doolan, safeguarding lead for the order, stated that the congregation supports the apology and the push for greater transparency.
Ongoing Impact and Unanswered Questions
Defries and other campaigners maintain that many families still lack clarity about the fate of their children, including how many were buried in unmarked graves. They contend that access to both public and privately held records is essential for closure and for historians to “unlock” the full story of the mother-and-baby homes.