Mother's helpers: Birthright provides guidance, support, supplies to moms

Some mothers around Southeast Missouri will celebrate Mother's Day with a new outlook on life, thanks to the efforts of Birthright and other agencies in Cape Girardeau.

Carol Berens with Birthright has an enthusiasm when she speaks about helping new mothers, but the task keeps her busy.

On Tuesday, Berens had to drop her normal routine to help a mother in need because of the flooding.

"She's got four kids, and she's from Cairo," Berens said. "She's lost everything, and we need to get her some stuff."

It's not uncommon for the doors at Birthright in Cape Girardeau to be swinging open, especially when there are natural disasters like the floods that forced people to evacuate their homes to flee the rising waters.

Birthright volunteer Mary Holzum packages supplies of diapers on Thursday, May 5, 2011, at Birthright in Cape Girardeau. Birthright is a not-for-profit organization that offers a range of services to mothers including pregnancy tests, counseling for unexpected pregnancies, maternity clothing and supplies for babies and young children. (Kristin Eberts)

Displacement by the floodwaters has affected many, like the mother who came to Birthright last week for help. She had heard of Birthright from her sister but had never needed its services until the floodwaters came.

Authorities warned everyone in her area that a levee north of them had broken, and they were going to clear an unsafe portion of the levee. The authorities were unsure if the breach would flood the area or not, but strongly suggested evacuation.

With that said, the mother packed what she could in her car and started the drive to Cape Girardeau to stay with her sister. With only time to pack essentials, she knew she was heading into a rough time.

As she drove away, over flooded ditches, she could only pray that her home would be spared.

At Birthright, she received diapers and wipes for her baby, as well as someone to talk to about the stress of her situation.

Birthright volunteer Mary Holzum shows a poster detailing the stages of life to a client on Thursday, May 5, 2011, at Birthright in Cape Girardeau. Birthright is a not-for-profit organization that offers a range of services to mothers including pregnancy tests, counseling for unexpected pregnancies, maternity clothing and supplies for babies and young children. (Kristin Eberts)

Birthright deals will a variety of situations and each one is special, especially when helping expectant mothers, Berens said.

"The first thing we do is a free pregnancy test," she said. "Sometimes they've already done one or more at home, but a lot of women come in for their first one."

The next thing that the women at Birthright do is sit down with the expectant moms to talk about their options.

"The thing I really want to underscore is that we want to form a relationship with this girl, so we stay with them during the pregnancy by way of phone calls," Berens said.

Berens said one of the best at this is Cindy Halter, a volunteer with Birthright. Halter has been working with Birthright since 1994.

"Our first priority is to help the mother make a decision that's good for both herself and the baby, but it is her choice," Halter said. "We tell them that they can either get an abortion, adopt or keep the baby and raise the baby, and then we go into how we can help her."

Each case is unique, and must be treated as such, Halter said.

"You just mostly talk to them and see where they're coming from, what their problems are, what has happened in their past that puts them in this position now," she said.

Halter said what she has seen in the past with people displaced by flooding is a need for clothes.

"A couple years ago when it was really bad, we had people come in and they couldn't take everything, and we would clothe all the kids," Halter said. "You can't believe how many kids we clothe. And we go all the way over into Southern Illinois, we go down past Sikeston; we just serve a tremendous area."

In addition to education and counseling services, Birthright also provides a referral service.

"When we run a positive pregnancy test, we give them the number for how to get an MC Plus card, we give them the number for the WIC office; we give them a list of doctors that will accept Medicaid," Halter said. "We do a lot of referrals."

For adoption options, they usually refer the woman to LFCS and Love Basket adoption services, in Farmington, Mo.

When the baby comes, Birthright offers their clients a layette, which is a brand-new laundry basket full of items useful to the new mom and baby.

"We call it 'A Shower in a Basket,'" Berens said. "People donate a lot of things to Birthright, and the new baby things are what go into this layette. Onesies, blankets, quilts, afghans, outfits, socks, baby wash, diapers, wipes; the list goes on and on."

Birthright's assistance doesn't end when the baby is born, however.

"From month to month, once a month, the moms can come in and get formula, diapers, wipes and outfits for their baby," Berens said.

She also said that as the mothers grow, they can get free maternity outfits. As the seasons change, they can bring them back and exchange them for more weather-appropriate clothing.

Depending on what is donated, Birthright offers anything it can to the mothers and their babies, but the first priority is guidance.

"I had a mom come in the other day, and I said, 'What can I get you?' and she said, 'Diapers and wipes, but do you have time to talk?' And there again, getting back to the relationship aspect of our service, that is No. 1," Berens said. "That's the real heart of our mission."

Birthright offers support to the children until they are 36 months old.

"During the time that the moms are coming in, we really, really stress education, so we ask our moms if they have their GED or if they graduated from high school," Berens said. "If they have not, we can either hook them up with Scholars at Work, which is a wonderful program, or if they choose to go to the Adult Learning Center and proceed on their own, we will pay the two fees incurred with the GED."

Birthright's push toward education doesn't stop there.

"We ask them, 'Now, when you were a little girl, what did you want to be?', and we try to decide if that makes sense for Cape Girardeau and if they can make money at that," Berens said. "Education is a big thing."

She said organization wants the mom to overcome the roadblocks and become motivated to change their life through education and training.

"By the time that child is 3, we want the mothers to become self-sufficient," she said.

Donations are the bread and butter that sustain the not-for-profit organization.

"We don't get any government money or any money from United Way or anything like that," Berens said.

Birthright has been in Cape Girardeau for 37 years, and the community has embraced its services. Berens said the key now is to get the word out to more people.

"We want people to know who we are, where we are and what we do," she said. "I'm always amazed that people don't know about us or don't know what we're about. We're interdenominational."

The SEMO Food Bank has helped Birthright out on numerous occasions.

"When you're paying 19 cents a pound for a product, that helps a lot," Berens said.

Birthright, at 2633 Hopper Road, is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. the first Saturday of the month. Call 335-0750 for more information.