Ogift mor, ogift för alltid? : En studie om ogifta mödrar i nordöstra Sunnerbo härad och sydöstra Västbo härad 1940–1949

Sammanfattning

In this essay I have studied seventy-five unmarried mother’s lives in northeast Sunnerbo district and southeast Västbo district in Småland 1940-1949. The aim was to study to which extend the unmarried mothers later become married women. The purpose was also to investigate to which extend the unmarried mothers gave birth to more illegitimate children. The eights parishes minutes of the Child Welfare Board has been one of the study’s main material. One of the main questions in this study were to examine if the unmarried women were mentioned in the minutes and if so, to see what were written about them. The eight parishes birth- and baptismbooks and the Swedish deathbook also constituted as the study’s material. The study shows that only seven of the seventy-five mothers didn’t get married. The mother’s expectancy was 77,4 years and five of the mothers gave birth to two illegitimate children between 1940-1949. I have found that twenty-five women are mentioned in the minutes of the Child Welfare Board. In most cases the unmarried mother has applied for maternityhelp and have been given an amount of money for maintenance of the illegitimate child. In some cases, women has received money to pay care fees such as fees for dentalcare or for orphanages.