1940s - Providing New Services
In the early '40s, men left home to fight in World War II, and women joined the work force as factory workers, farmers, and professionals. Necessity forced most couples to postpone child bearing until the war's end, and the Maternal Health Association responded with continued premarital and birth control counseling. Grateful women from all over Ohio praised the association and referred their friends to its clinics. "I want to thank you for the wonderful service you have given to me and to my friends, although we are most times lax in expressing our thanks," one woman wrote. "I am deeply and sincerely grateful to the Maternal Health Clinic." As the clientele grew, the association established two more clinics on the city's east side. And in 1942, MHA affiliated with the newly formed Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA).
By 1946, the war was over, and reunited men and women were eager to start their own families. Unfortunately, pregnancy didn't come easily to every willing couple, and few physicians or hospitals addressed infertility at the time. With the support of the Brush Foundation, the Cleveland Maternal Health Association launched one of the country's first fertility clinics. Directed by David Weir, M.D., the clinic opened with a waiting list of about 100 childless men and women. The Plain Dealer reported, "For the first time in Cleveland all the measurements and treatment for men and women who find they are infertile are available in one place. This is the first such clinic in the Middle West, it is believed, and one of the first in the country." The fertility clinic would treat almost 1000 couples between 1946 and 1968.
To pay for the new clinics and expanding services, in 1947, resourceful MHA members established an enterprise that would provide continual funding. The Cleveland News reported, "Members of the 18-year-old organization will soon open a 'Nearly New Shop,' an innovation in the city." The store will sell second-hand clothing, jewelry, furniture, antiques, toys, glassware, and china." Doris Crandall Brayton, Gertrude Haskell Britton, Helen Chisholm Halle, Mrs. O.L. Hawk, Marjorie Lane Shephard, and Betty Lee Titus Webber organized this long-lasting venture.
In 1948, inspired by the success of the Nearly New Shop, Marianne Millikin Hadden, Brooks Barlow McWilliams, Eleanor Cottrell Hatch, and Frances Wick Bolton coordinated the first Christmas Mart to benefit the Maternal Health Association. Specialty stores from Fifth Avenue, Palm Beach, Vail, and other glamorous spots set up temporary shop, bringing unusual gift items to Cleveland. The Christmas Mart was so successful that a few years later Cleveland society columnist Winsor French noted, "The Maternal Health Association's annual Christmas Mart swings into action today in the usually cloistered Intown Club, and the rush, you can be sure, is going to be terrific."
At the same time, the population was growing at an alarming rate in developing countries, so Planned Parenthood Federation of America focused its attention internationally. In 1948, The Brush Foundation provided seed money to help establish the International Committee on Planned Parenthood (ICPP). In 1952, the organization opened its headquarters in London, England.
Continue to A Building of Its Own - 1950s
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