Historical Forced Adoption

Historical Forced Adoptions Apology Statement

Barwon Health wishes to acknowledge the Victorian Government’s redress scheme that now recognises the profound and enduring impact of forced adoptions, along with our organisation’s role in this dated practice between 1954 and 1988.

Baxter House, Barwon Health’s birthing facility during this time, was the site of the forced separations of mothers and their newborn children, leading to subsequent forced adoptions. This practice caused pain and trauma for single, pregnant women who were often already vulnerable and their children.

We acknowledge the failure to support and effectively care for these women, and Barwon Health sincerely apologises for contributing to the forced adoption of children who should have remained with their birth mothers.

Barwon Health’s treatment of these women is unrecognisable from the compassionate women-centred maternity service we know today. As we reflect on the past mistreatment of vulnerable women at Baxter House, it is regrettable they did not receive the nurturing support and education our midwives now offer to all patients.

Barwon Health is committed to learning from the mistakes of the past and we are proud of the high-quality care we provide, offering a comprehensive range of services to support women during their pregnancy, birth, and post-natal care.

While the grief cannot be undone, we sincerely hope the redress scheme and our apology allows affected women and their children to feel seen and heard through formal recognition of the ongoing loss and grief that many people still endure.

For more information on how to access hospital records, please see our Health Records Requests page.

Find more information on the Historical Forced Adoptions Redress Scheme here.