Skip to main content

Story: Adoption

Babies in demand

Image
Babies in demand

Adoptions increased after the Second World War, and demand for babies often outstripped supply. Girls were more popular than boys and Pākehā babies were preferred. Over the years the New Zealand Woman's Weekly published a number of articles about adoption. One story in 1960 included this photo of a child welfare officer (the forerunner to social workers) explaining the adoption procedure to prospective parents.

Using this item

New Zealand Woman's Weekly

Reference: Women's Weekly, 28 March 1960

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Anne Else, Adoption – Growth in adoption, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/26047/babies-in-demand (accessed 24 June 2026).

Story by Anne Else, published 28 February 2011.