Honoring Natural Moms on Mother's Day.

Mother’s Day is for honoring mothers - grandmothers, step-mothers, working mothers, stay-at-home mothers. I have heard in some churches women who have had abortions have been remembered as the mother of their unborn child on Mother’s Day. But there are some mothers who have been forgotten - these are the mothers who have been used like livestock and had their babies harvested from them to be used for adoption. In the 1950’s, 60’s and early 70’s millions of white single mothers were punished for having a baby. Many were denied any information about childbirth. When they went into labor they were left alone with no support and no pain relief. But the worst punishment was losing their child. Some were not even told whether they had a son or daughter.

The Mother-and-Child relationship is like no other. A baby bonds with her mother in the womb. A baby looks to her mother for security and no other caregiver - not even the baby’s father - can replace her. Many hospitals now recognize the importance of keeping newborns with their mothers, rather than separating them. Experts emphasize the benefits to a baby that come from nursing and her own mother’s milk, designed for her.

Yet with all that is known about the importance of a baby’s mother to her well-being, some vulnerable and naïve mothers are still being led to believe that their infant sons and daughters will be better off with someone else. Even a dog breeder knows better than to separate puppies from their mother before they are sufficiently mature.

This Mother’s Day, help and honor teenage moms and single moms who are taking responsibility for their children. Acknowledge natural mothers as mothers, not "birth objects" meant to be used as the source of a baby for adoption.