What Really Happened To Peggy's Baby In Mad Men

The fate of Peggy’s baby boy was initially left ambiguous in Mad Men, but the show later provided a more solid confirmation about what happened to her son. For the most part, Peggy’s arc in Mad Men was the empowering tale of an ambitious young woman navigating a male-dominated workplace. She transcended the steno pool to join the creative team and stuck up for herself and earned her seat at the table every step of the way. Peggy was so successful in such a short space of time that it caused Joan to resent her.

But there were many more facets to Peggy’s character. She had a complicated love life, ranging from torrid affairs at the office to an engagement built on lies. She had a love-hate relationship with her overbearing mother, a love-hate relationship with her judgmental sister, and a love-hate relationship with her on-and-off lover Pete Campbell, with whom she conceived a child in the first of Mad Men’s seven seasons. A big part of Peggy’s character is the guilt she feels over giving away that baby — but where did the baby end up?

In Mad Men Season 1, Peggy Gives Birth To A Son Fathered By Pete Campbell

Peggy Doesn’t Realize She’s Pregnant Until She Goes To A Doctor With A Stomach Ache

In the finale episode of Mad Men’s first season — season 1, episode 13, “The Wheel” — Peggy’s hard work trying to get her creativity noticed finally pays off. After winning over the Kodak executives with his emotional, family-oriented pitch for the “Carousel,” Don promotes Peggy to junior copywriter and gives her a private, albeit shared office space. Despite her co-workers’ objections, Peggy is elated to get this opportunity. But her celebration is short-lived, because she suddenly becomes very ill with a stomach ache and has to excuse herself to go to the hospital.

When the midwife offers the baby to her, Peggy refuses to take him. She won’t even look at him or acknowledge his existence, because she’s not ready to be a mother.

When she’s seen by a doctor, Peggy is shocked to learn that her queasiness is the result of a cryptic pregnancy. The baby was fathered by Pete during their brief affair (and, ironically, Pete would later have plenty of trouble trying to impregnate his own wife). During her visit to the doctor, Peggy gives birth to a healthy baby boy. But when the midwife offers the baby to her, Peggy refuses to take him. She won’t even look at him or acknowledge his existence, because she’s not ready to be a mother.

Between Seasons 1 & 2, Peggy Gives Up The Baby For Adoption

When Season 2 Starts, The Baby Is Gone

Peggy is never shown giving up her baby for adoption, but it’s implied to have happened between seasons 1 and 2. In season 2, episode 1, “For Those Who Think Young,” Peggy returns to the office after a three-month absence, and she’s noticeably much thinner. Her colleagues around the office gossip and speculate about her weight loss and the reason for her break. The weight loss is a result of the unexpected childbirth, and the series eventually reveals that Peggy was away for three months because she was hospitalized due to the emotional devastation of giving away the baby.

Mad Men Hinted Peggy’s Sister Might Be Raising Her Baby With An Ambiguous Scene In Her Sister’s Kids’ Bedroom

Peggy Was Reluctant To Face Her Sister’s Children

Although it all but confirmed that Peggy had given her baby up for adoption (she certainly wasn’t raising him herself), Mad Men didn’t reveal what happened to him right away. The show included an ambiguous scene in season 2, episode 2, “Flight 1,” implying that Peggy’s baby might’ve been adopted by her sister. Peggy goes to have dinner with her mother and sister at their apartment in Brooklyn, where her mother unsuccessfully tries to convince her to come to Mass with them on Sundays and her sister hints that the State of New York considers Peggy to be mentally unwell.

Peggy reluctantly looks into the bedroom where her sister’s children sleep. Her sister has three kids, and the youngest is still a baby.

When Peggy goes to leave the apartment, her sister encourages her to say goodnight to her kids. Peggy reluctantly looks into the bedroom where her sister’s children sleep. Her sister has three kids, and the youngest is still a baby. There was naturally a lot of speculation about the possibility that the baby was Peggy’s, having been adopted by her sister. That’s by design; the scene is set up to provoke that kind of discussion. But the scene deliberately leaves it unclear. Although the older kids try to talk to her, Peggy doesn’t say a word and leaves almost immediately.

Whether It’s Peggy’s Baby Or Not, The Point Of The Scene Is The Same

Either Way, Her Reluctance To See The Kids Highlights Her Guilt Over Abandoning Her Own Child

Peggy holds her sister's baby in Mad Men

Whether the baby in Peggy’s sister’s apartment is the one she gave up or not, the point of this scene is the same. Peggy’s reluctance to go into the kids’ room and face them points to her guilt over giving away her own child. When she’s forced to look at her sister’s children and sees that baby in the crib, she’s instantly reminded of the one she gave away. Peggy’s sister knows this; it’s why she implores her to say goodnight to the kids in the first place — she loves pushing Peggy’s buttons.

Mad Men Eventually Confirmed That Peggy’s Sister’s Baby Was Her Own & Peggy’s Was Adopted By Another Family

She Tells Stan, “He’s With A Family Somewhere”

After letting the audience stew on their speculation for a few years, Mad Men finally revealed what happened to Peggy’s baby in season 7, episode 11, “Time & Life.” It’s pretty common for TV shows to spend their final season dredging up all the unanswered questions and unresolved mysteries from throughout the show’s run and give them a definitive conclusion. The final season of Breaking Bad brought back the Schwartzes, the final season of Lost explained the origins of the Smoke Monster (kind of), and the final season of Mad Men finally revealed what happened to Peggy’s baby.

Jon Hamm as Don Draper at his desk in Mad Men

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Peggy felt the need to unburden herself of the guilt and opened up to Stan about the baby she gave up for adoption. She told Stan, “He’s with a family somewhere.” She added that she didn’t know which family he was with or where they were raising him, but clarified, “It’s not because I don’t care.” The baby in Peggy’s sister’s apartment was her sister’s own biological child. The baby that Peggy gave birth to was given up for adoption and adopted by a totally different family who might not even be in New York.

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Peggy doesn’t necessarily regret giving the baby away, because she wasn’t ready to raise him herself. Since it was a cryptic pregnancy, she didn’t have any time to wrap her head around having a child before he was presented to her. She was too young and career-driven to become a mother. But Mad Men always made it clear that, after giving him up for adoption, Peggy carried plenty of guilt with her.