The story of a female doctor and a man who had over 500 children
Have you heard of a woman named Helena Wright? She was a humanistic physician involved with contraceptive methods in the early twentieth century, when it was even more taboo than today, and yet she not only studied sexual and reproductive relationships, but also wrote books about it and set up centers for Dedicated assistance to help all those in trouble, regardless of their social background.
Between consultations, Helena realized that there was something in common in the reports she heard from her patients: many of them, instead of looking for contraceptive means, complained about their husbands' lack of sexual appetite, returning from the First. World War sick and traumatized - that's when they didn't die in combat. Still, these women wanted to have children.
Today there are some ways to get pregnant without the woman having to be in a relationship, but in the twentieth century such attitudes simply did not exist, since “ IVF ” and “sperm bank” are supermodern nomenclatures. And what could then be done about those women who wanted children?
Crowd without partner
Times were really tough, and the First World War, which began in 1914, was responsible for the deaths of millions of soldiers and civilians, not to mention people who were badly injured, maimed, and physically traumatized. The war was responsible for the role change of thousands of women who left the position of "wives" to carry the sadness of being "widows" and being among the statistics that classified them as belonging to the "multitude without partner".
In 1918 Helena had heard the report of thousands of women who, in addition to lamenting about the loss of a husband or the trauma he had experienced, were talking about the sad fate of having it without having children. Helena, who had already lived in the skin the prejudice for being a doctor, having to fight her own family for this, was not suppressed and, long before the concept we have today of semen donor, thought about how it would be possible to find a service like these.
The year 1919 was devoted to the research of Helena, who was looking for a man who could be a sperm donor to the many women who wanted but could not yet have children. The candidate should meet some basic requirements: be tall, have teeth, be well educated, intelligent and manly.
The donor
Then comes a man named Derek, who at the time was 30 years old and came from a family with slightly more liberal thoughts, and of course meets the requirements imposed by Helena. Unlike his younger brother, Derek was not summoned to participate in the war and therefore did not experience the great trauma of all soldiers, but experienced the loss of one person from his family as his brother died during a conflict in the war. Germany.
Derek did not feel comfortable again until he met a nurse named Suzanne, who was to become his wife, who in 1919 introduced him to Helena, and as their friendship grew, Derek learned that the doctor had a list with her. at least a thousand women who would like to be mothers and had no way. It was then that he understood that he could help.
The two made a deal on a relatively undercover service that would work as follows: each woman concerned should pay the equivalent of £ 10, and that money would go to a fund dedicated to providing all the antenatal care of which women and babies would need it.
The process
The communication between Helena, Derek and the future moms was made by telegrams, and the women had no right to know the volunteer in advance, to make the whole process simpler and faster. They just had to do the math and see which days would be most fertile before setting the date. Husbands were informed about it and could choose to accompany their wives to the agreed location or simply stay away - most chose the second option.
Derek always wore a black suit with a white shirt and a polka dot bow tie, accompanied by his hat, a small briefcase, and a bottle of brandy. The recipe worked very well and some women even requested a second visit, but Helena always made it clear that it was not merely a sexual treatment, but a way to reestablish a family that wanted children. So no encore.
Results
Suzanne, Derek's wife, according to Helena's reports, seemed to have a good relationship with her husband's function and didn't bother with it. Over the next few years, Derek visited more than 500 women, many of whom had children and did not need to make a second visit to the employee. Whenever a child was born, Helena would send a telegram to Derek. Between 1919 and 1950, Derek helped to conceive 496 children.
The collaborator also had his own children - nine in all - and died at home in 1974. A year after his death, services came from men who offered to have short relationships in order to produce pregnancy.
Helen had a long and totally ahead life, being an adept and advocate of open relationships, contraceptive methods, miscarriages and, of course, Derek's help. In 1968, she responded to these acts and was found guilty, but had a large discount on her sentence. Helena got to know the world, helped people and helped to break various taboos. She continued to travel, study, work and question social standards until the end of her life, which lasted a beautiful 93 years.
* Posted on 8/8/2013
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