A new shelter for pregnant girls and women is expected to be up and running by mid-November, making it Singapore's only dedicated shelter for those in distress over an unplanned pregnancy. The Dayspring New Life Centre, located in a bungalow at 233, Turf Club Road, will be able to house up to 10 women and four babies.
Besides offering refuge, the centre and its partners will also provide counselling and practical support to residents and others who need such help. This includes linking them with an adoptive parent if they decide to give their baby up for adoption or referring them to post-abortion therapy if they choose to end their pregnancy.
Those who seek help can stay for a few days or up to four months after they give birth, depending on their needs. Counselors interviewed said the number of pregnant girls and women who needed shelter has fallen. This is because the number of teenage pregnancies has plunged in the past two decades and parents are more willing to allow their daughters who are pregnant out of wedlock to live at home. There were 487 babies born to girls aged 19 and below last year - a third fewer than the 731 babies born in 2003 and the lowest number in at least the past 25 years.
Thoughts anyone?
Yours,
Something Small Thinking Big
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