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Agencies Offer Help To Unwed MothersBy MAR1LEE LINDEM ANN VHS Journaliim StudentA booked rug on the wall bore a message which essentially said it all, It read simply, LOVE carefully.''To an unwed mother, alone and frightened, the message is too late to be of much help, but the people inside the office where the rug hangs can help.Although it hangs on the wall of the Valparaiso Planned Parenthood Clinic, 23 Washington, the rug’s message may be found in several such obscure places. It may be changed somewhat as the address and phone number of the office change, but the meaning is basically the same: the unwed •mother is not as isolated as she may feel. Qualified people are willing to help—all she has to do is ask.Valparaiso’s Planned Parenthood office opened in the fall of 1971. It is a member of the Planned Parenthood Association of Northwest Indiana, Inc., which celebrated its 10th anniversary in 1974. With federal funds from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and private donations to support it, the clinic has been able to offer many services free of charge. This, however, is changing because the tremendous growth in the number of patients served has rendered the funds insufficient. A staff member noted, however, no one will be refused help if she cannot pay.A variety of services is available to the unwed mother—or to any woman with a problem pregnancy—through Planned Parenthood, According to a nurse at the clinic, counselors will present the young woman with alternatives to help her make the right decision with her child and wili help her if she wants to establish paternity through the courts.Stressing the importance of a healthy pregnancy, Planned. Parenthood encourages close medical supervision. At the clinic, professional staff members examine all patients and refer them to private physicians if necessary.Another source of help to the unwed mother is Birthright, an organization which was formed nationally in 1971. The local chapter was founded in January 1974.According to a Birthright volunteer, the group has deviated somewhat from ils original purpose. Although it was once intended to show an alternative to abortion, its primary concern now is to give emotional support to distressed • pregnant women. The volunteer added Birthright is not concerned with being professional, counselors but with providing assistance in the form of financial, legal, spiritual or medical aid. To achieve these ends, Birthright has a 24 hour answering service.The organization tries to refer the unwed mother to a counseling service. Handling each case individually Birthright takes age, maturity and the financial situations of the individual into consideration before offering suggestions.Its members emphasize to women the importance of life. They present the distressed mother the positive aspects of having the child.Illustration By Pauline FrankBoth Planned Parenthood and Birthright urge young * women who seem to be excessively disturbed by their pregnancies to' seek professional help. One Valparaiso psychologist who has worked with from 30 to 40 such women describes them as confused, very depressed and in need of help.Of the women deciding to go through with their pregnancies, some choose to go to a home for unwed mothers outside their local areas. Bethesda, 2104 Valparaiso St., is a home of this type.Plans were begun on Bethesda in October of 1967, and it opened its doors to its first residents a little more than a year later. An outgrowth of the Baptist Children's Home, Bethesda receives funds through donations from independent Baptist churches and primarily serves women from outside Porter County whose local churches have referred them there,A young couple supervises the women living in the ranch type home. The $4 per day fee the women pay covers room, board and counseling which is designed to help the women with any problems. According to Belhesda's supervisors, more than half of the women choose to pul the children up for adoption.To occupy their time the women sow, read and work on crafts, do a lot of walking for exercise and wail for the mailman to bring much awaited news from home. The women said they were generally excited about having a baby, although they had been quite scared at first. One woman noted she had expected Beliiesda to be liko a prison-complete with bars on Uie windows. She was quick to add; however, the warm informal atmosphere of the home had soon disposed of her insecure feelings.Once a week Bethesda’s residents visit a registered nurse where she instructs them on diet, hygiene and the importance of exercise. Women wishing to continue their educations do so through correspondence courses or by bringing books from their hometown schools.The final alternative available to unwed mothers is abortion. According to one Chicago clinic, the actual procedure takes from four to six minutes and the time spent in the hospital is approximately three hours. Cost in public clinics ranges from *125 to *175. One doctor at Porter Memorial Hospital will perform an abortion up to the !2th week of pregnancy for $400. The higher price is accounted for by the fact it is an in-patient surgical procedure.Local counseling agencies may be hard to find. One is an isolated upstairs office; another is an unobtrusive white house. There are no neon signs advertising offers of support and encouragement. But there is a rug. One rug with a message that puts the advice of alt these projects and organizations into a two word capsule, “LOVE carefully.
Newspaper Details
Valparaiso Vidette Messenger
Valparaiso, Indiana, US
Tue, Apr 29, 1975
Page 9
Full Page
Clipped by
Porter C.
IN, USA 27 May 2025
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