Lancs Uni researcher releases report about life and death of baby in adoption home scandal

TW: This article contains distressing content and mention of suicide 

A Lancaster University researcher has made public a redacted version of his confidential report into a baby who died at a mother and baby home at the centre of the forced adoption scandal.

Dr. Michael Lambert, of Lancaster Medical School, has unearthed archival evidence from official records of the circumstances of baby Stephen’s birth, life and death, at St Monica’s maternity home, Kendal, in 1964.

The report informs that Stephen’s mother was 17-year-old Judith Holt, who was pregnant outside marriage, was sent to the maternity home for unmarried mothers by a local church social worker from her home of Penwortham, near Preston. Stephen’s father has not been identified.

Stephen was born on 13th January 1964, living for 11 weeks before dying on 3rd April 1964 due to spina bifida and hydrocephalus.

After decades of dealing with the loss of her son in secret, in 2006 Judith took her own life in her car, parked close to Parkside Cemetery, Kendal, where baby Stephen was buried.

Judith Holt was one of thousands of unmarried mothers who gave birth at a maternity home, run by religious organisations across much of Britain. Dr. Lambert’s highlights the difficulties of being a young unmarried mother at this time, being seen as a “unsatisfactory, undeserving tenant group” by local authorities when it came to housing support.

A lack of access to financial support and childcare also made adoption seem like the only option, and in the “best interests of the child.”

In 2021, a UK parliamentary report estimated that over 185,000 babies in England and Wales had been forcibly separated from their mothers between 1949 and 1973. The parliamentary report recognises the harsh treatment of unmarried mothers and their children during this time, and called on the UK government to issue a formal apology to families affected by this matter.

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Dr. Lambert said: “Whilst resident Judith was expected to participate in the domestic life of the home before birth which entailed cleaning, polishing, laundry, preparing knitted garments for the child, participation in religious worship, and some time for leisure and rest. This regime was prescriptive and routinised, overseen by the Superintendent, Elsie M. Stannard.”

In Dr. Lambert’s report, he revealed that, under the supervision of Superintendent Elsie M. Stannard, there were 44 recorded infant deaths (including Stephen’s) and 43 stillbirths at St Monica’s maternity home. He declared this as being a “clear failure of governance” from the religious organisation that oversaw the home, as well as the associated social work of Carlisle Diocese and the Church of England.

The report also suggested the local health authorities, which funded St Monica’s as part of the National Health Service, had been concerned about the quality and availability of maternity care provided, but nothing was done.

Dr. Lambert added: “These unaddressed concerns may have contributed to Stephen’s poor care and can be seen in relation to the reasons for other infant deaths and stillbirths in the home over time. Stephen was born with meningo-myelocele (spina bifida), a congenital clinical condition where the neural tubes fail to close in utero during foetal development, leaving portions visible or exposed.

“This condition made him less desirable for adoption by prospective adoptive couples and may have influenced how he was subsequently managed by Miss Stannard, other staff who worked in the home, and outside medical expertise.”

If you have been affected by the contents of this article, you can contact the Samaritans at any time by calling 116 123, or contact Shout, a 24/7 text messaging service, by texting the word “Shout” to 85258.

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Featured image via ITVX