Maternity home offers help to unwed mothers

New residents usually don't want to live in a maternity home.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
VIENNA -- There's a long gravel driveway spotted with chuckholes off Warren-Sharon Road just east of the Avalon Inn.
At the end of the drive is New Life Maternity Home, a one-story building that provides physical, emotional and spiritual support to unwed, pregnant teens and young women. That support continues after they give birth.
"We see the need so closely," Theresa Seiders, New Life director, said of what she terms "the girls."
Most residents range in age from 12 to 23, although residents have been as young as 11 and as old as 44.
Seiders noted that being unwed and pregnant isn't the taboo it once was because it has become accepted in contemporary society.
"The shame of being an unwed mother is no long there," Seiders said, pointing out that some schools have nurseries for babies and sometimes pregnant girls' friends and classmates are pregnant as well.
"But not everybody has a support system," Seiders said. "It's a safe place to stay," she added.
The home, which began operations in 1991, can accommodate nine residents, but three to five are using the facility at any given time.
Referrals
It receives referrals from social agencies, homeless shelters, schools, hospitals, doctors and family and juvenile courts in Trumbull, Mahoning, Geauga and Portage counties, although there are no geographical restrictions. Some residents have come from as far away as Cincinnati and West Virginia.
Seiders explained that other referrals are from juvenile justice centers because they're runaways, unruly or fight with family members, and from children services agencies because they have been neglected and abused by their families.
Some have learning disabilities while others have made bad choices and their families no longer take responsibility for them, she added.
Mary Boyd, New Life counselor, said she works to get the girls and their families back together. Some families are "just worn out" from dealing with the girls while other families won't talk to them because of their behavior.
Boyd, who has been involved in social work for more than 20 years, said the residents usually put up a barrier when they arrive.
"They don't want to be here. Eventually, they come around," Boyd said.
Duration of stay
Some residents arrive when they first learn they're pregnant while others are six to seven months along. Most are in the fourth or fifth month.
They leave New Life after giving birth at a medical facility. In the meantime, they attend parenting classes, receive adoption information, after-care planning, attend high school at the maternity home and get substance abuse counseling.
New Life doesn't function as an adoption agency, Seiders explained. Rather, it provides a viable alternative for young women with unintended pregnancies who might otherwise choose to abort their babies.
If they choose adoption, they are referred to a licensed agency.
Seiders said it's usually the family that wants the girl to keep the baby because they lack knowledge of adoptive families.
Only 5 percent of the girls allow their babies to be adopted, she noted.
Helpful programs
During their stay, residents can earn "New Life Bucks" to buy infant furniture, clothing, diapers, stroller and car seat.
The average resident earns enough items to last the first two years of her child's life.
And then there is the father of the baby.
Seiders said that in most cases at the home the father doesn't call or write the mother. But if fathers are willing to help prepare for the baby, attend a parenting program and get permission from the girl's parents, they are allowed limited contact.
"It doesn't happen very much," Seiders said. "It's what separates the boy from the man."
"We're dealing with broken kids who just want to be loved," the director said.
"They are exposed to the truth of their situation," she added.
After birth, the new mothers are helped to find housing and get more education and job training.
There is the Super Moms support group that helps new mothers learn about such topics as discipline, child development, nutrition, job training, finding a place to live and writing r & eacute;sum & eacute;s.
One day last week, Felicia Davis, founder and chief executive officer of Dress for Success in Warren, gave a presentation on dressing for an interview.
Those who attend Super Moms receive baby items, health and beauty items and books. Last week, they received new purses.
yovich@vindy.com