BETTENDORF — The Women’s Choice Center invites all area women who have ever chosen to deliver a child into the waiting arms of adoptive parents to participate in a celebration of birth mothers.
The luncheon honoring birth mothers will be held Nov. 16 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Women’s Choice Center. The center initiated a partnership with local and regional adoption agencies, pregnancy resources, local adoption attorneys and area hospital social workers to improve the dialogue among organizations that facilitate adoptions. The coalition’s goals include improving support resources for birth mothers and elevating the visibility of adoption as a loving option to unplanned pregnancies.
“We believe more women would choose adoption if they understood it better,” said Vicki Tyler, executive director of the Women’s Choice Center.
Adoption sources estimate 36 waiting families for every child available for domestic adoption. Fewer than 3 percent of women facing unplanned pregnancies choose adoption. “Many women facing unplanned pregnancies believe they only have two real choices: to keep and raise the child, or to have an abortion.
“Often pregnancy centers like ours are the first to raise the adoption possibility,” Tyler said. “Adoption is a process that can be explored without commitment. Birth moms have a great deal of choice in determining who will get the privilege of raising and loving the child they gave birth to.”
All birth moms are invited to attend the free luncheon celebration. Honored guests will hear how their sacrifice has profoundly enriched the lives of adoptive families. Many adoptive families wait years to adopt a child. This luncheon is an opportunity for birth moms to connect with other women who truly understand their experience.
Reservations are requested by emailing Leigh Geramanis at leighg@womens choicecenter or by calling (563) 332-0475.
The Women’s Choice Center is a Christian-based ministry founded in 2002 by the Life and Family Educational Trust. The center offers free services to women facing unplanned pregnancies, including pregnancy testing, obstetric ultrasound, options counseling and local resource referrals, including adoption referrals. The walk-in clinic is open Mondays from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and the third Saturday of the month from 9 a.m. until noon.
