The Jutland Birth Institution

The Birth Institution was opened in 1910. It was an opportunity for unmarried, often needy, pregnant women in Jutland, but also for married women - if circumstances and payment were right.

At the birth institution unmarried pregnant women could give birth anonymously and comfortably.  Until then, such a place had only existed in Copenhagen and many unmarried pregnant women from Jutland had gone there to hide their pregnancy from family and employers, to hide the shame.

The social aim of the institution was particularly evident in two places: the maternity ward and the children’s ward. The maternity ward opened its doors to needy unmarried women, widows and abandoned wives, no matter how far along they were in their pregnancy, and offered them free dwelling. In return the women helped with necessary work such as cleaning, washing and kitchen work.

The children’s ward was an opportunity for unmarried mothers who wanted to keep their children, but were not immediately able to support them. In the children’s ward the child could stay for up to a year while the mother spent her time finding a solution for the future. Often the position of housekeeper was on top of her list, because this position enabled her to bring the child along.
This ward also housed those unmarried mothers who had no place to live, because their families had turned their backs on them. They could stay for free and spend time with their children while helping out on the ward.

The purpose of the Birth Institution was to create ‘a refuge for homeless women about to give birth and their infant children’, but unmarried women were not allowed to forget that they had ventured outside current moral standards. There was an appreciable difference in how married and unmarried women were treated. The bed charts on the maternity ward clearly indicated who was married and who was not. Married women were always named as ‘Mrs.....’ while unmarried women were registered under their full name.

The food was different as well. Married women were given much better food and for example at breakfast were allowed a soft-boiled egg. The tableware was also different. Married women were served milk in a china jug and had a glass to drink from, while unmarried women had their milk in an enamelled jug and drank from a mug of the same material.

At the end of 1955 the arrangement of housing ‘unfortunate mothers and their children’ ended.  By then, social institutions such as Mother and Infant Homes had grown so common, that it was thought they could cover this need. The Birth Institution’s social and humanitarian aim thus ended.

Unmarried pregnant women still had free access to the Jutland Birth Institution, but other than that the place was reserved for women experiencing difficult pregnancies or births. From 1983 the Birth Institution also became the local place to give birth for women from Århus and environs.

August 28 1996 the last child was born in the "white castle" in Vennelystparken. From this date forward, births took place only at Skejby Hospital.