ABSTRACT
Pregnancy and childbirth have throughout most of history been surrounded with taboos; the almost exclusive domain of women, birth has been considered too tainted to be witnessed by men. Although maternity is a condition with obvious medical components, it has been repeatedly shown that social factors are as important, if not more important, than regular prenatal health checkups in determining the outcome of pregnancy. Unmarried pregnant women, another special category often eligible for assistance, can sometimes find help in one of the religious-sponsored homes originally founded for the purpose of reforming their residents. Many give priority to teenage girls, in spite of the fact that the majority of unwed pregnant women are between the ages of twenty and twenty-nine. The federal “Maternal and Infant Care Projects,” established in 1964 largely as a result of President Kennedy’s Panel on Mental Retardation, have attempted to bring quality medical services to high-risk pregnant women and infants living in poverty pockets.
