After a rough time, Claudia is looking forward to a life together with her daughter. (Staged photograph)
Overcoming A Dangerous Existential Crisis
Claudia, 27, fulfilled her dream of having her own business three years ago. Unfortunately, this turned into a nightmare. An oversized shop, not enough customers, employees who cost too much: bankruptcy threatens. Exactly at this time she realises that she is pregnant. The child’s father does not want to hear anything about a baby. Now she thinks about having an abortion and even about committing suicide. Thanks to the help of the SAMC, both mother and child are now doing fine.
An e-mail arrives at the SAMC-Helpline: A woman asks for help, not for herself, but for her daughter. A counsellor picks up the phone and consults with the mother. Her daughter is eight weeks pregnant and is close to bankruptcy. Her nerves are on edge. She has already suffered several nervous breakdowns. The counsellor, on her end, explains to the mother the capabilities of the SAMC in regard to how the SAMC supports pregnant women in distress. That makes a good impression on her. Due to the recommendations of her mother, the pregnant woman herself calls the SAMC counsellor.
Claudia: Near to Despair
The counsellor gets to know the young woman as a person who works tirelessly towards her goals, occasionally to the point of exhaustion. Claudia reveals that her business is close to ruin. Her debts continue to grow. The baby’s father, the love of her life, wants nothing to do with the child and apparently decreasingly with her too. The pregnancy couldn’t have come at a worse time, she thinks. She is considering having an abortion. The counsellor suggests that her situation, though difficult, is no reason to become disheartened. The pregnancy could even turn into a success for her.
Alot of Highs and Lows
The counsellor arranges a meeting with Claudia and her mother, where the current situation will be looked at from all sides: the relationship to the child’s father, who she feels has betrayed her, and also the threatening bankruptcy. Claudia wants to avoid this, but does not have the resources for it.
To prevent insolvency, the counsellor offers to take over paying the rent on her business for four months. For Claudia this is very encouraging. Impressed by such support, she reaches the conclusion that she can risk beginning a life as a mother with the help of the SAMC.
Unfortunately sometime later, she loses her strength again. She suffers another breakdown and is forced to stay in a clinic. She is in serious risk of committing suicide and, according to her doctor, needs to be under observation and to recuperate. Under these circumstances her only option is to file for bankruptcy. Claudia’s mother takes care of this on behalf of her daughter, with assistence from the counsellor.
Finally Upwards
After being discharged from the clinic, Claudia requires support from social services. However, they are only prepared to adequately contribute financially after the birth of the baby. In the interim, the SAMC provides the support and gives her the equipment that she will need for the baby. Her life finally turns calm. She can recover, and prepare herself for the upcoming birth.
As an adorable girl is born at the beginning of the hot summertime, she is held by a mother who is looking forward to the future together: «I am incredibly proud», Claudia writes to her counsellor in the birth announcement. «Thank you for your wonderful support.» Also Claudia’s mother is touched, and shows her gratitude: «Without your help we wouldn’t have managed this. Thank you so much!»
For the counsellor, the story is not yet at its end: she remains in contact with Claudia and provides her with care and attention.