Should pregnant teens be sent to a maternity home?

Question

Has anyone been here: http://www.harborhouse.org

Answer 1

I would guess that many girls would not leave there with their child in there arms.



Gotta love those ethical Christians.

I wonder how long the wait list for a baby is there.

Answer 2

I volunteered at one full time for a summer during college. I was the same age as many of the girls there. But they weren't "sent"... They chose to go there. Some had been homeless, and it was really a place of hope. It helped them connect with education resources (I tutored for GED, and they got the girls enrolled in community college classes), help finding work, figure out government programs like Medicaid and foodstamps, adoption services when desired... Help getting childcare while getting on their feet... It was AMAZING.

For mythbusting, although the ladies there were 18-21 yrs old, they were not all just pregnant teens with no one to support them. Some of them had been married to men who went crazy or started beating them or started using drugs. Some had their own issues, but there were many reasons why they came to the beautiful haven I had the chance to be a part of...

Marywood, in Austin, TX

Answer 3

No, not if they are like the houses of shame, adoption mill, baby farms of the Baby Scoop Era.  Some still are that way (cough, cough, Gladney).  They claim that they help teens explore their options, but a teen mother has a chance in h**l of ever leaving one of those places with her baby in her arms.  They are just places where the parents of pregnant teens who don't have the guts to face their responsibility can dump their " little problem"

That said.  There are some teens who are in abusive non-supportive family situations who need a safe place to stay.  A ray of hope for them is that there are some former houses of shame associated with churches that have FINALLY figured out that the most effective way to prevent abortion is to stop beating young mothers-to-be over the head with the very unattractive option of adoption and to provide a them with  a real hope of being able to parent their children.

Slowly, ever so slowly, some former houses of shame are being converted into residences that provide REAL support to pregnant teens rather than being indoctrination centers and baby farms.

ETA - I checked the link to Harbor House and have mixed feelings.  I immediately mistrust any organization that offers unplanned pregnancy help that offers adoption as an "option".  Harbor House does.  However, the link to the "Adoption Option" says that the option is "offline".  A ray of hope that this organization is going out of the adoption business?  There's a hope.  Also, there is a link to the residence and day-care center for low-income WORKING people that my husband and I support.  Maybe this place is turning around.

ETA2 - I take it all back - Dug a little deeper - it's a baby farm with brainwashing the good 'ol christian way - from the Harbor House site:

"Guiding Principles of Harbor House  



3. Single-parenting does not fit God's perfect plan for the family. God designed the blueprint for the family: A male father and female mother living together and united in marriage, raising their children to love and to fear Him (Gen. 2:23,24; Ps. 127:3-5; Eph. 6:1-3; Deut. 6:6-9).

4. Adoption is preferred and in most cases the best choice for a minor birthmother. Adoption is a biblical choice and mirrors God's relationship with his children (Ex. 2:10; Esth. 2:7; Is. 63:16; Jn. 1:12; Rom. 8:15; 2 Cor. 6:18; Eph. 1:5)."

Another Watermelon Hill ala 2008.  I feel sick for any poor young girl who ends up with these vultures.  I wonder how much money they make off selling their babies.

Answer 4

I don't think they should be "sent" their, against their will to hide the pregnancy, but if it's their choice then I don't have a problem with it.

While the support of family can be very important for a young pregnant girl, not every family is supportive. For some teens, living in their parents home where they're constantly being jugded and made for feel guilty for becoming pregnant can be miserable. Also, if the girls parents want to force their opinions on  her about raising the baby or not, she may prefer to be away from them so she can make her own decision.

Answer 5

I volunteer at a place like HarborHouse.  It is a school and home for teen moms.  Any pg teen can go to our school (we don't charge them any money we operate solely on donations)  the few girls who live there were either homeless due to running away from a bad home situation or when they told their parents they were pg and not getting an abortion they were kicked out of their homes.  We house and educate them for free.  We get them health care and help teach them how to parent their babies.  The girls can stay until they graduate from high school.  We graduate about 30 a year.  Then we help them find permanent housing and either a job or community college for those who want to pursue more education.  I can't speak for harborhouse but if it is like the place I work weekly it is much needed refuge for these girls.  I find it interesting that there are so many negative answers here since so many proclaim we don't do enough to keep moms and babies together.  I have been doing this for a long time and my actions and deeds speak louder than any proselytizing on Y/A.

Answer 6

Sent to a maternity home, of course not.

But where does a pregnant girl go, when she has no family and no support?

I don't think the focus of these homes should be on adoption, but on support of the pregnant girl.

Answer 7

when i got pregnant (im 16) i went to the gladney center for adoption in texas.  They pay for EVERYTHING and they are nonprofit.  They will even fly you out for free.  And they have a great system with choosing the adopted family.  It's a really great place. i highly recommend it!

Answer 8

It smacks of the RC Magdalene Laundries that ran from the late 19th century all the way into the 1970s.  

Pregnancy is not a crime.  Teenage girls who become pregnant are not in the same league as criminals.  They may have transgressed a social law by following a biological imperative but without that push people the race would die out.

Lets look after these children who become pregnant, nurture and care for them.

And to all the judgmentalists out there, wasn't there something in the Bible about casting the first stone and something else about the father welcoming the prodigal child?

Answer 9

No, a pregnant teen needs the support and love of her family and home, in my opinion.

Parents who kick their pregnant children out of the house should be prosecuted.

Answer 10

I have a pregnant teen living with me now. She has neither the support of her mom or dad. It was either mine and my husband home.....a maternity home or the streets. She wants to keep her child and we told her that her and baby are welcomed as long as it takes. I am hoping mom and dad will come around but we are preparing for a permanent situation.

It's rather sad that there is no one to support these girls. I know she likes having me to talk to but what she really wants and needs is her mom.

Answer 11

When a teen girl gets pregnant, she is no different than a non-teen girl who gets pregnant in that she needs her family.  Pregnant women rely a lot on family.  It's terrible that a teen girl would be denied that and send to be with strangers in an institution.

Answer 12

im pregnant now, and im a teen (16) and i would not want to be there, i would want to be with my family and friends.

Answer 13

If I were a pregnant teen, I would want to be with my friends and family, not there.

Answer 14

I'm shocked that places like this still exist in the 21st century.

I'm even more shocked that parents could send their daughters away when they need them the most.

A young girl who is scared and confused and going through a life-altering transition needs to be surrounded by people who love her.

Answer 15

UGH nothing like The Girls Who Went Away part II

Hasn't anyone learned from the mistakes of the past???

Apparently not.  YUCK

Answer 16

I provide foster care for some teenage girls here in Oregon, and I would hate to see someone try to 'send' them somewhere, pregnant or not, that they didn't want to go.

  Let's leave ideas such as this in the past where they belong.

Answer 17

if they're living in the stone ages, yes.

Answer 18

A bit reminiscent of the homes girls were sent away to back int he 50's when they got pregnant.  They were not given a choice however, they were sent there and their children were ripped from their arms after the birth.  So many parents are now trying to find their children, it was a horrid rights violation that literally makes me sick.

If the girls choose to go, thats fine, but the whole idea of "hiding" them away from the general population just reeks of passive hand smacking.  Do they really have anything to be ashamed of, and is it really OUR jobs to make them feel that way?

EDIT:  thanks for this question, I wasn't even aware that antiquated places like this still existed.