VPRS 17817 Case History Record Book

The records in this series comprise of Case History Record Books which provide summary case information on each mother admitted to Hartnett House (VA 5117) for care, either before or after the birth of her child.The case summary entries seem to have been written after the mother was discharged from Hartnett House, as the entries were compiled in their entirety, including both the admission and discharge details. There are a few instances where other comments were added later but this is the exception. By the mid twentieth century the volume entries provide more case information including details on the future of the infant and the woman who had given birth to the child.Entries in the books are generally arranged chronologically by the date of admission of the mother. Entries are not numbered within the volumes which indicates that their function was not as an admission register but as a record of case summaries for the women admitted to the HouseThe volumes are self-indexing, with an alphabetical list at the front of each case book indicating on which page the entry is located. This listing includes the mother's name, with the baby's name sometimes recorded, especially if the child was going home with its birth mother.Details recorded include:- mother's age- religion- suburb- when admitted- when delivered (if stillborn)- information indicating where the mother and/or child were placed/discharged to whom- adoption details- any other remarks.Some entries also include the father's name and address or whether he has wanted to have his details included with the birth of the child.Various entries note that an infant had been admitted under the Infant Life Protection Act, or that the child was made a state ward or that she/he was subsequently adopted.After 1960, the register was divided into columns and more uniform information was recorded.From 1960 through to 1974 a different recording process was utilised where the entry sizes were reduced to a one-line notation under uniform column headings:- mother's surname- age- occupation- sex of child- date of admission- date of birth of the child- date of discharge- the 'fate' of the child (which primarily appears to have been adoption).