Sunday, January 2, 2011

A haven for mothers-to-be

That's the headline to this article that talks about a maternity home that seems a little different from the norm, including the fact that the article talks of mothers-to-be instead of birthmothers (which isn't something the media tend to do without considerable education by the article's subject):
It might seem there’s not much need for maternity homes in 21st century America, where there is no longer much stigma attached to unwed motherhood.

But the organizers and residents of Hannah House, a non-profit organization that provides a place to live for women in their teens and 20s who are dealing with crisis pregnancies, said the need for such homes is greater now than it was 30 or 40 years ago.

“I’ve been involved with helping pregnant girls and women for more than 20 years,” said Glennis Woodall, founder of the organization that recently moved to East Texas.

“These young women still need help making decisions and learning practical skills that will help them provide the best possible lives for themselves and their children.”

* * *

The mothers-to-be are offered information about adoption and parenting, and are free to choose whichever alternative they believe would be best for themselves and their children.

* * *

“When I originally began working with women who had crisis pregnancies, I was part of an organization in Houston that was really focused on encouraging the women to place their babies for adoption, and that bothered me,” Woodall said. “Adoption can be a wonderful option, and we make sure the women here are aware of that opportunity for their babies, but we don’t pressure them to choose it. If they want to parent their child, we help them gain the life skills needed to be an effective mother.”
Does anyone know anything more about this organization?  Might be worthy of support . . .

5 comments:

Real Daughter said...

I find this a bit frightening. It is run by anti-choice people. I highly doubt there is no pressure being put on women to not surrender.

The Declassified Adoptee said...

I do like that she acknowledged the history of what purpose maternity homes tended to serve.

A place where expectant mothers can live and learn life and parenting skills sounds wonderful. However, what I'd like to know is if the maternity home provides adoption services, accepts adoption fees, places babies for adoption (etc. etc.), or is affiliated directly with any entity who does.

The Declassified Adoptee said...

Oops, I missed the part of the article where it said they were anti-choice and arrange adoptions.

Dee said...

Have to agree with Linda...and I'm an adoptive mom of a daughter born in China, so you know which iron I have in this fire. The Biblical character Hannah was one of her husband's two wives. She was the infertile one and was chided by the other wife for her childlessness. Hannah finally give birth to a son, Samuel, after much prayer.

Seems to me this maternity home is an example of how the adoption industry has gotten pretty slick in the way it presents itself to expectant mothers. But I admit I'm pretty jaded.

travelmom and more said...

I don't know about this organization, but in my community (in Denver) there is a wonderful home for expectant mothers the Bridgeway Home (I don’t know if it has any political leaning or not), the students I have had who have lived there all parented their children and none have mentioned that they were pressured to consider adoption. The home here provides parenting classes, pre-natal care, infant supplies and prepares girls to be independent. One of my students, who had considered adoption decided to parent once she realized how much support she could get from various school choices to programs like Bridgeway. Good quality homes for expectant mothers do exist and they are not all disguises for the adoption industry.