On Our Own

Unmarried Motherhood in America

Author: Melissa Ludtke
ISBN: 9780679424147

Unmarried motherhood: we debate it, discourage it, even legislate against it, yet it has continued to increase, in a steady rise that epitomizes the enormous changes of the last half-century. In 1950, only four percent of American babies were born to mothers who were not married, and many of these children were subsequently adopted. Almost fifty years later that figure is up to nearly a third of all births--more than one million babies each year--and their mothers, whether they are teen- agers or professionals in their forties, now usually raise these children on their own. This rapid and staggering change in family formation is the target of much vigorously argued commentary, but too little commonsense analysis. Melissa Ludtke, a career journalist who has specialized in writing about children and the family, has finally produced the first in-depth, objective examination of this emotionally charged issue. The result of years of research as well as interviewing and questioning experts r

Publisher: Random House
Publish Date: 1997

Subjects: Family & Relationships / Parenting / Motherhood

This book is available in the following Community Centers: Women's Center (Location: Parenting)