When Julia (name changed) moved to Malta she lived with her boyfriend and they shared the rent but when she told him she was pregnant, he left.
Feeling alone and unable to afford the rent, she wondered how she could possibly raise a child. She reached out for help and received it from a shelter set up specifically for women experiencing crisis pregnancies.
Julia lived there throughout her pregnancy and, last summer, gave birth to her baby.
Now that she is settling into motherhood, can look after her baby, has started working and can stand on her own two feet, she will soon be leaving the Mosta shelter, Dar Tgħanniqa T’Omm (Mother’s Embrace Home).
She is one of five women living in the shelter right now, which has been run by Life Network Malta, a pro-life NGO, since December 2018.
“In our first year running the shelter, we helped 22 mothers, some of whom stayed with us in the shelter. We know for sure that we saved seven babies whose mothers were considering abortion during the year,” Miriam Sciberras, who chairs Life Network Malta, says.
As she walked visitors through the shelter during an open day, Dr Sciberras recounted how it welcomed women from various backgrounds who faced unplanned pregnancies and lacked support.
We never tell them what to do. Keeping the baby is their choice… We know we lose some babies
Each woman came with her own complex story – some getting pregnant from partners, others from affairs and some having been abused. All of them were alone and struggling, Dr Sciberras noted.
“Some of these women don’t know what love is,” she said.
One woman, given a plate of risotto on arrival at the shelter, told a volunteer: “No one has ever cooked for me.”
The NGO operates a crisis pregnancy support helpline (2033 0023). Women who call are first greeted by trained listeners who assess their needs and then pass them on to counsellors if necessary.
Those in need of a place to stay are directed to the shelter where they are followed by a counsellor and volunteers throughout and after the pregnancy.
“We help them connect with relatives and friends who can support them and help empower them,” Dr Sciberras said.
Asked if counsellors and volunteers insisted that the women considering abortion keep the baby, she said: “We never tell them what to do. Keeping the baby is their choice… we know we lose some babies.”
She recalled one woman phoning her after stepping out of an abortion clinic in northern Italy “in tears”.
However, most mothers kept their babies while some offered them up for fostering or adoption, she said.
The shelter currently has four bedrooms housing five mothers.
Funds are needed to do up another two bedrooms, lay carpeting, build a large cupboard to store pushchairs and donated items and transform the roof into a safe outdoor play area for the children.
Anyone who wants to assist can visit http://lifenetwork.eu/.