Chapter: THE MATERNITY HOSPITAL IVY HOUSE, HACKNEY

This Hospital is one for the accommodation of young mothers on the
occasion of the birth of their illegitimate children. It is a humble
building, containing twenty-five beds, although I think a few more can
be arranged. That it serves its purpose well, until the large
Maternity Hospital of which I have already spoken can be built, is
shown by the fact that 286 babies (of whom only twenty-five were not
illegitimate) were born here in 1900 without the loss of a single
mother. Thirty babies died, however, which the lady-Officer in charge
thought rather a high proportion, but one accounted for by the fact
that during this particular year a large number of the births were
premature. In 1908, 270 children were born, of whom twelve died, six
of these being premature.

The cases are drawn from London and other towns where the Salvation
Army is at work. Generally they, or their relatives and friends, or
perhaps the father of the child, apply to the Army to help them in
their trouble, thereby, no doubt, preventing many child-murders and
some suicides. The charge made by the Institution for these lying-in
cases is in proportion to the ability of the patient to pay. Many
contribute nothing at all. From those who do pay, the average sum
received is 10_s_. a week, in return for which they are furnished with
medical attendance, food, nursing, and all other things needful to
their state.

I went over the Hospital, and saw these unfortunate mothers lying in
bed, each of them with her infant in a cot beside her. Although their
immediate trial was over, these poor girls looked very sad.

'They know that their lives are spoiled,' said the lady in charge.

Most of them were quite young, some being only fifteen, and the
majority under twenty. This, it was explained to me, is generally due
to the ignorance of the facts of life in which girls are kept by their
parents or others responsible for their training. Last year there was
a mother aged thirteen in this Hospital.

One girl, who seemed particularly sad, had twins lying beside her.
Hoping to cheer her up, I remarked that they were beautiful babies,
whereon she hid her face beneath the bedclothes.

'Don't talk about them,' said the Officer, drawing me away, 'that
child nearly cried her eyes out when she was told that there were two.
You see, it is hard enough for these poor mothers to keep one, but
when it comes to two--!'

I asked whether the majority of these unfortunate young women really
tried to support their children. The answer was that most of them try
very hard indeed, and will use all their money for this purpose, even
stinting themselves of absolute necessaries. Few of them go wrong
again after their first slip, as they have learned their lesson.
Moreover, during their stay in hospital and afterwards, the Salvation
Army does its best to impress on them certain moral teachings, and
thus to make its work preventive as well as remedial.

Places in service are found for a great number of these girls,
generally where only one servant is kept, so that they may not be
taunted by the others if these should find out their secret. This as a
rule, however, is confided to the mistress. The average wage they
receive is about L18 a year. As it costs them L13, or 5_s_. a week, to
support an infant (not allowing for its clothes), the struggle is very
hard unless the Army can discover the father, and make him contribute
towards the support of his child, either voluntarily or through a
bastardy order.

I was informed that many of these fathers are supposed to be
gentlemen, but when it comes to this matter of payment, they show that
they have little title to that description. Of course, in the case of
men of humbler degree, money is even harder to recover. I may add,
that my own long experience as a magistrate goes to confirm this
statement. It is extraordinary to what meanness, subterfuge, and even
perjury, a man will sometimes resort, in order to avoid paying so
little as 1_s_. 6_d_. a week towards the keep of his own child. Often
the line of defence is a cruel attempt to blacken the character of the
mother, even when the accuser well knows that there is not the
slightest ground for the charge, and that he alone is responsible for
the woman's fall.[5] Also, if the case is proved, and the order made,
many such men will run away and hide themselves in another part of the
country to escape the fulfilment of their just obligations.

In connexion with this Maternity Hospital, the Salvation Army has a
Training School for midwives and nurses, all of whom must pass the
Central Midwives Board examination before they are allowed to
practise. Some of the students, after qualifying, continue to work for
the Army in its Hospital Department, and others in the Slum
Department, while some go abroad in the service of other Societies.
The scale of fees for this four months' course in midwifery varies
according to circumstances. The Army asks the full charge of eighteen
guineas from those students who belong to, or propose to serve other
Societies. Those who intend to go abroad to work with medical
missionaries, have to pay fifteen guineas, and those who are members
of the Salvation Army, or who intend to serve the Army in this
Department, pay nothing, unless, at the conclusion of their course,
they decide to leave the Army's service.

At the last examination, out of fourteen students sent up from this
Institution, thirteen passed the necessary test.

 Sarah meets her mother, Ada, for lunch. Ada, a suspicious and hard woman, quickly extracts the story of Sarah's romance with Billy. She then warns her daughter that every tenth condom has been pricked with a hole and goes on to assert that if Sarah has sex with her suitors, they will never marry her. Ada wishes her daughter worked in a place where she would have the opportunity to meet men, not at the munitions factory that is causing her skin to turn steadily more yellow. Ada's greatest ambition for Sarah is that she marry a man with a stable income; if the man dies after their marriage and she is left with an inheritance, all the better. In Ada's mind, men are predatory and women are dependent. Ada does not believe men and women can love one another; Sarah finds this approach to life very depressing. At the end of their meal, Ada warns Sarah that Billy is only interested in her for sex and advises her daughter to be cautious. Sassoon meets with Graves and they discuss his imminent return to France. Their conversation is cold; it seems as though a distance has grown between them. Graves tells Sassoon that he worries about him because Sassoon does not think about the future anymore. The lieutenant, meanwhile, refers to the mounting death rates and tells Graves that if he had any real courage, he wouldn't "acquiesce" the way he has. Offended, Grave invokes a gentlemanly code of honor where keeping one's word reigns supreme, reminding Sassoon about the promises he made upon enlisting. After their argument, Graves informs Sassoon that Peter, a boy Graves was very fond of, was arrested for soliciting outside the barracks and will be sent to Dr. Rivers for treatment. Graves goes on to say that since the incident, he has begun writing to a woman in order to focus his attention on more "normal" relationships. Graves insists he is not, nor has he ever been, a homosexual, "even in thought". Sassoon is taken aback by this unwarranted admission. Sarah goes to work at the munitions factory during the night-shift, chatting with her co-workers while they wait to enter. The women joke about all the homosexual men in the army in a somewhat vulgar manner. Looking around her, Sarah observes that these women do not look human: the factory has dyed their skin yellow and endowed each one with a crown of frizzy copper hair. She asks about the whereabouts of her friend Betty and learns that Betty attempted to give herself an abortion with a coat-hanger and accidentally punctured her bladder. Betty had to be taken to the emergency room, where a condescending doctor lectured her. Dr. Rivers finishes his rounds that evening with Sassoon, who is anxious to hear if the War Office has agreed to send him back to France. After the psychologist explains that he has gotten no word, Sassoon mentions Graves's story about Peter and subsequent rejection of his homosexuality. The lieutenant admits that he thought social attitudes towards homosexual men were improving. Dr. Rivers agrees but theorizes that during a war, men are encouraged to develop extremely close and brotherly relationships in combat; the intimacy of these relationships makes many men nervous. Therefore, exaggerated posturing against homosexuality is a way for soldiers to create a distinct separation between the bonds of war and romantic love between two men. The psychologist warns Sassoon that making his private life public could result in severe persecution. Sassoon replies that he does not want to repress his beliefs or desires. Harshly, Dr. Rivers compares him to Don Quixote and tells him to grow up

