MovieChat Forums > Mad Men (2007) Discussion > What happened to Peggy's baby?

What happened to Peggy's baby?

posted 8 years ago by claudiafarconada
13 replies | jump to latest

First of all, disgusting that she slept with Campbell... Don't know why/how anyone would/could.

I started watching this show when it originally started, and carried the 1st season devoutly. The 2nd season didn't really grab me, so now I've resumed watching it on the 3rd season... Kind of a 2nd-3rd chance.

I don't know (or remember) what happens to Peggy's baby, and would really thank any of you, kind souls, if you could at least point in the direction of the answer. Maybe it isn't even mentioned anymore, maybe it doesn't matter?... Don't know. I think it's kind of pointless that a burden like that has no toll on the relation of her character and the previously mentioned vomit-inducing father.

Thank you veeeery much

[–] Jhines01 8 years ago

Peggy gave it up for adoption.

But Wiener deliberately tried to make us think for a few episodes that Peggy's sister was raising it.

This was made clear later when her sister confessed to the priest that Peggy had seduced a married man and had his baby Even the priest was confused, because he gave Peggy an Easter egg "for the little one." Her sister also told her that the state of New York didn't think she was a fit mother, because they put her child up for adoption.

Later, Peggy tells Pete that she had his child but gave it away.

Even later, Peggy tells Don that she knows who the father is (she didn't tell) and that sometimes she feels guilt about having given the baby away

Finally, the kid that Peggy befriends later in the series is about the age that her child would have been.

That covers the main points, but some other posters will probably add to or correct this.

[–] Uri_A 8 years ago

After Baby Gene was born, Peggy gave Don her gift (she was excluded from the shared one given by the office stuff). She is seen longingly caressing a pair of baby shoes, a gesture Don see and get. Another one of those silent, intimate moments they share.

[–] Jhines01 8 years ago

I don't remember that at all. Why was Peggy excluded?

[–] Uri_A 8 years ago

She was not one of the girls (=the secretaries) anymore and she wasn't fully one of the boys yet.

[–] Jhines01 8 years ago

Thanks. That makes sense.

[–] catbookss 8 years ago

She is seen longingly caressing a pair of baby shoes, a gesture Don see and get. Another one of those silent, intimate moments they share.

You have a wonderful eye for detail.

I remember Peggy's gift scene, and longingly caressing the baby shoes, but not that Don noticed her doing it.

[–] eclipsed-bythe-moon 8 years ago

I'm really confused. I'm only on the second to last season but I was 90% certain we learned the baby was being raised by her sister. I just figured it was too expensive to spend time and money on seeing another baby grow up aside from Don's kids and now there is also Tammy, so we never saw the kid again. Plus Peggywould have avoided him.

[–] Jhines01 8 years ago

You fell right into Weiner's trap.

Peggy's sister Anita was also pregnant when Peggy had the baby. The baby that Peggy said "Good night" to was Anita's. Classic misdirection.

It was eventually made abundantly clear in later episodes that Peggy's baby was given up for adoption, but not before many people, including you and Father Gill, thought that her sister was raising it.

[–] Katiedidd 8 years ago

JHines is exactly right. Viewers were meant to think for a while that Peggy's sister, Anita was raising Peggy's baby. However, in a flashback of Peggy at the hospital after giving birth (and continuing to be evaluated for her dissociation of the whole thing), you can see Anita was very far along in her own pregnancy when speaking to a doctor with their mother.

The show never goes into great detail about where Peggy's child was placed, but it was not with family, and we can surmise it was a typical adoption of the era--totally closed.

[–] maggimae83 8 years ago

I agree that Peggy sleeping with Pete was a real faux pas and IMO it was just plot manipulation to create drama and give the actress a meaty role. This kind of thing was fairly rare in MM, thank goodness.

maggimae83

[–] Thomasina 8 years ago

I agree that Peggy sleeping with Pete was a real faux pas

I'm not sure what you mean by "faux pas," but if you are using the term in its dictionary sense, I think Peggy at least thought that it was the opposite of a faux pas--indeed, she thought that she was basically obligated to have sex with one of the ad men at her office. Everything she experienced on her first day (including Joan telling her that her main job was to find a husband and sending her to get birth control pills) communicated to her that that was part of her job. She first tried to fulfill that "obligation" with Don, who sharply rejected her, so she took the next opportunity that came along.

Luckily for her, she also seems to have been attracted to Pete (although I agree with the original poster who questioned how anyone could possibly feel an attraction to such an odious toad).

[–] Katiedidd 8 years ago

The show would discuss issues pertinent to the era, and it was quite realstic for some young girls to "get into trouble" back then. If a young woman didn't place the child for adoption, they almost always had a shotgun wedding. The show even acknowledges this in Peggy's situation when it was discussed later.

The show also discussed termination of pregnancy and the brand-new birth control pills on the market. These issues were all a relevant part of this time in history. It was bad luck that Peggy got pregnant with her first time with Pete, but that is real life. It didn't feel like plot manipulation at all to me.

[–] bettyholland-63899 8 years ago

I'd love for them to have a sequel that answers that question, although the main character I want to see in my mind's sequel is Sally :)