Hostages of time:Policy, practice and experiences of relinquishing a child for adoption in the Netherlands between 1956 and 1984

Alongside the baby boom, the period after the Second World War also witnessed another and less studied demographic change across Europe and the West – “baby scoop era” – an increase in unmarried pregnancies accompanied by that of children given up for adoption. In this study, we explore the Dutch experience of these social and demographic changes where the legal introduction of adoption in 1956 was among the latest in Western Europe; however, abortion was not legalised until 1984. The study revolves around two research questions: what was the legal and institutional context for relinquishment... Mehr ...