HAVING as many children as possible has been a
positive good for some, yet a positive misfortune for
others. Simply where and how to give birth have
increasingly become subjects of controversy. Life
expectancy is high, and mothers rarely die in child-
birth. Although, this hasn't always been so.
In our great grandparents' day, with high death rates and
especially high infant mortality, the emphasis on having more
children seemed to make sense.
Before the Industrial Revolution poor people usually had
fewer children than the better off in society. The poor had less
children for three main reasons. Their husbands were more
likely to die before their child bearing years were over, and
there was the tendency not to marry again. Also, being at the
lower end of the social scale they were in poor physical
health, so they conceived less easily and miscarried more
often. However, as the 19th century progressed, it seems that
the rich got richer and the poor got children
Childbirth in the past was risky, with the local midwife
helping and sharing this female condition, even if sometimes
she found that she was only grudgingly admired by medical
men. For a long time, in fact, their skills appeared mysterious
and were easily associated with sorcery. Therefore, an oath
had to be taken by English midwives in order to get a license,
in which they stated they would use no sorcery and that they
would properly baptise the child if death was imminent. This
licence was granted by the church, not a government office or
a medical organisation.
Message
These days all mothers in the UK are entitled, in theory, to
choose where they have their baby, but very few give birth at
home. And yet, when this picture postcard (bottom of page)
was sent in 1907 it indicates there were far more community
midwives aiding young mothers in their own homes. "Lug-
gage Forward," was sent to Mrs Chatwin at 6, Cokeland
Place, Cradley Heath with maybe a message of a home birth.
"Dear Mother, I write to say that a "Bonnie Daughter"
arrived at ten o'clock this morning. Mrs Phomp doing well.
Love from Lois XXX."
In other words, mother and child doing fine - but what about
the new dad?
On the subject of babies, well we all adore babies and cannot
wait to see them blossom into toddlers, but some olden days
facts relating to their little lives are particularly grim. In their
first months of life they had a twenty to forty per cent chance
of dying before his or her first birthday, and many more
would be dead before the age of ten. This brutal statistic is
highlighted on this mourning card dated February 13th 1918,
for a little one aged just three -- Joseph Goodwin, the
beloved son of George and Mary Ann Goodwin of 8,
Intended Street, Cradley.
Diseases
Babies and small children died of a variety of diseases,
especially those of their delicate digestive system. This was
usually attributed to "Worms", a parasite which infested
drinking water. When epidemics raged the very young were
particularly vulnerable, with smallpox and measles being fre-
quent killers of children. They also succumbed to many other
diseases: mumps, diphtheria, whooping cough and scarlet
fever. There was no known cure for most of them. Once they
struck, often recovery was a matter of luck.
Some measures were taken against smallpox in the eight-
eenth century, at first by a few upper class families who had
their children inoculated. Then with the
discovery by Edward Jenner of the
cowpox inoculation children had some
form of protection.
Anti-Vaccination
This leaflet which has been kept by a
Black Country family for over a hun-
dred years proves that not all parents
were convinced that the vaccination of
their infant was a good idea. The
National Anti-Vaccination League was
trying to persuade that it was not in the
best interest for the welfare of babies.
Some children were luckier than oth-
ers because of where they lived or their
class in society. The chances of living to
adulthood were enhanced if their par-
ents were well off, probably because of
better nutrition which increased their
resistance to disease.
Many Victorians undoubtedly suf-
fered appalling childhoods, and there
were of course noticeable variations
among different parts of the Black
Country.
Middle-class Victorian childhood
could be a good experience, as indi-
cated in these photographs of
beautifully dressed children from the wealthier areas of Lye
and Cradley Heath. It was not just buying the pretty dresses,
the parents had to be better off to even afford to have these
photographs taken.
Precarious
Not all children were as lucky, life was frequently precarious
for working class families. The fear of destitution or the death
of a parent constantly worried their little lives. Even the stead-
iest and most respectable of families had these threats. In such
circumstances a child's ability to contribute to the family's
earnings was extremely important. As a result, the various
laws passed during the Victorian age to limit the numbers of
hours that children could work were not always welcomed by
most families.
Children had to help in other ways too. With mothers obliged
to go out to work, or toil over hearths at home, older children
had to look after the babies as well as doing their fair share of
the household jobs.
All this left our Black Country children with little time for
lessons or school let alone play.
The Fate of our Black
Country Children
By
Dianne
Pye
A charming young
girl whose parents
could afford pretty
clothes and pay
for this visit to W.
Pardoe's
photographic
studio in Vicarage
Road, Lye.
The vaccination of children was far from popular with all
parents a century ago.
Card sent to herald the birth of a child
in 1907.
Infant mortality was a significant prob-
lem in our grandparents' day. This sad
notice records the death of 3 year old
Joseph Goodwin of Cradley, in 1918.
Thursday, February 26, 2009 THE BUGLE - 9
To all with connections to OLDBURY
Christ Church in the heart of
Oldbury has eight bells in the
tower but for many years
they have been silent.
CAN YOU HELP THEM RING AGAIN?
We have raised nearly � 5,000 to
replace the mechanism but need
the same amount again for them to
ring out across the town.
All donations welcome, but perhaps you would like to be a
major donor and have yourself or someone you wish to be
remembered specially commemorated in this way.
FOR MORE DETAILS OF THE BELLS, look on History of Oldbury website
http://historyofoldbury.co.uk/2latestnews1.htm#Peal
and to find out more about the appeal and what we can do to provide
an appropriate commemoration please contact the Vicar, Canon John
Barnett, on 0121 552 5005 or vicar@christchurcholdbury.org.uk
The Vicarage St John's Road OLDBURY B68 9RP
A chance for your "voice" to be heard
in the town for future generations
A Birth a Death and a Barrelage,
A history of Hawthorn farm
in the area of Quinton Oldbury
"Well researched and beautifully presented"
Dr Carl Chinn
This once tiny hamlet of 'The Hawthorns'
named after the farm that dominated the
area, gives us families of great wealth,
stories of courage, anecdotes of trivia
and everything in between.
Available from;
� The Bugle Shop 41 High Street.B64 6HL
� Quinton Post office, near High Street Quinton.
� Bonds Book Shop, High Street, Harborne.
� Cabbella Hairdressers. Hagley Road West, Quinton, Oldbury.
� Paul and Barney's Coffee Shop, Perry Hill-Castle Road, Oldbury B68
� Books unlimited Lower high street Stourbridge - 01384 376330
"It is a journey well worth taking and
brings its own rewards" Dr Mike Hall
visit www. katecreed.com or call 01384 397426
Email: kate.creed@virgin.net

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