Problem Pregnancy

Abstract

A generation ago, a new mother would awaken groggily from the an-esthetic administered during childbirth to ask eagerly about her baby. “Is it a girl or boy? Does it have all its fingers and toes?” And most importantly, “Is it healthy?” As recently as the early 1960s, parents had no sonograms, blood tests, fluid extractions, or genetic analyses to give them a glimpse of their baby’s well-being before it was born. Medical science still knew very little about whether a mother’s diet or diseases affected the health of the baby she carried. Most pregnant women just crossed their fingers, said their prayers, and hoped for a normal, healthy baby.

Obviously our problems had touched deep emotional wellsprings in many people. It seemed that a fair portion of the human race had chosen sides over a woman out in the middle of Arizona who simply didn’t want to give birth to a child who might be hopelessly crippled for life.

Sherri Finkbine, Redbook (January 1963)