A second chance at Safe Place

This article was written as part of a social campaign in collaboration with Safe Place.

The first time she was pregnant at 22, Amy* called a crisis hotline but received no concrete support. They merely dissuaded her from aborting without further advice.

26 and pregnant again, Amy was haunted by the trauma of her first pregnancy which she terminated at 23 weeks.

“I had to go through labour in my bathroom. There was so much blood everywhere. It was scary," she recounted, describing the abortion as losing a part of herself. “Until now, I don’t have a grave to visit.”

Amy chanced upon Safe Place in a newspaper article. She reached out on a Friday, fully prepared not to hear back. But the next day, she did. Amy took it as a sign— beforehand, she had already decided that if she received no reply, she would proceed with her planned abortion on Tuesday.

That night, a caseworker and Ms Jennifer Heng, Director of Safe Place, went to her house to talk to her parents.

“They chatted until 2 or 3 am. That made me feel like they really cared. I was like, ‘Wow, they actually want to help.’”

Beyond a roof over her head, Safe Place showed Amy genuine care. Amy gratefully recounted a life-changing conversation with a caseworker. She feared the pain of another abortion but also worried about her career. Patient conversations like these helped Amy decide to keep her child.

Amy appreciated the routine in the residential home: Tuesdays were community lunch days, and Thursdays were book club meetings among residents. Doula classes also helped prepare her for motherhood.

Some of her best memories at Safe Place were an outing to S.E.A. Aquarium and a mookata meal to celebrate the end of the book club.

“The mookata was a nice way to end because I left to give birth after that!” Amy chuckled.

Amy stayed at Safe Place, where she received postnatal support.

Since moving home, she continues to receive baby supplies from Safe Place and frequent check-ins from her caseworker.

She feels “indebted” to Safe Place, and wishes she knew them during her first pregnancy.

“I think about the ‘what ifs’. I would’ve kept my baby.”

Amy helps others through sharing her story. “God won’t give you something you can’t handle.” Although it has taken many years, she finally feels at peace with herself.

“I keep them close to my heart,” Amy says as she held up the locket around her neck with an ultrasound of her first pregnancy and her daughter’s baby picture.

As Amy continues to work hard, she remains hopeful. "I have her, she has me. Together, we are complete.” ∎

* Names have been changed to ensure anonymity.