Fairmount Maternity Hospital (1934 to 1951)

The location of Welcome House KC since the 1980s, this building served as the home of Fairmount Maternity Hospital from 1934 to 1951. Fairmont was established in 1917 and operated until 1963, and was one of several maternity hospitals in Kansas City that were staffed by professionals who provided medical and social services for unwed mothers who needed assistance during and after their pregnancies. Kansas City was sometimes referred to as the "adoption hub" of the United States in the early-to-mid-twentieth century due to its central location and Missouri's simplified adoption laws that also provided sealed records which appealed to both birth mothers and adopting parents. In addition to Fairmont Maternity Hospital, Kansas City saw an estimated one thousand adoptions each year as women from throughout the region sought the services of this institution and several others in the city including the Willows Maternity Sanitarium and St. Vincent’s Maternity Home. As part of a planned expansion of Welcome House KC, this historic building is scheduled for demolition as of 2023.

Fairmount Maternity Hospital was founded in the 1930s and was one of many facilities that served as a confidential place for unwed mothers to quietly seek food, shelter, and medical assistance during their pregnancies. According to work by Diane Bernard and Maria Bogen-Oskwarek, over eighty percent of women around the country who gave birth at maternity homes surrendered their babies for adoption. Kansas City was home to numerous maternity homes, giving the city the tacit nickname of " the adoption hub" of the United States in the early-to-mid-twentieth century due to its central location and Missouri's lax adoption policies at the time. Unmarried pregnant women traveled to Kansas City while families throughout the region who wanted children contacted Fairmount and other maternity homes about adopting one of the many babies born there each year.

In one letter to an Oklahoma couple in January 1938, Fairmount staff wrote "You make your own selection as to the baby you desire, and if we have none to please you after your application is approved, no harm is done." In the same letter, Fairmount staff assured the potential adopters that "By adopting a child from this Institution, you are assured of getting a healthy, normal child, who has had a thorough medical examination, and has been found free from disease of every character." The couple was given the total cost of adopting a child from Fairmount: forty-two dollars and fifty cents.

After Fairmount Maternity Hospital closed its doors, the building became St. Anthony's Home for Infants. In 1986, the property was purchased by Welcome House KC, which remains at 1414 East 27th Street as of 2022. Welcome House KC serves as a recovery house for individuals pursuing sobriety.

"Fairmount Maternity." Jefferson City Post Tribune (Jefferson City) April 18th 1938. , Personals sec, 7-7.

Hahn, Terri. A family 80 years in the making, The Grand Island Independent. November 25th 2021. https://theindependent.com/news/local/a-family-80-years-in-the-making/article_d82a13c2-4d9b-11ec-85e9-4f4d2e8b2cff.html.

History of the Welcome House, Welcome House KC. https://welcomehousekc.org/about-us/history/.

Bernard, Diane and Bogen-Oskwarek, Maria. The maternity homes where ‘mind control’ was used on teen moms to give up their babies, The Washington Post. November 19th 2018. https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2018/11/19/maternity-homes-where-mind-control-was-used-teen-moms-give-up-their-babies/.