WTOC, Savannah, Georgia, news, weather and sports | Experts Say Fear May Play a Part in Baby Abandonment

Experts Say Fear May Play a Part in Baby Abandonment

SAVANNAH, GA--We're still following the story of the baby girl left on a church bench (see Mother of Found Baby Still Unknown).

Someone left the newborn on a bench outside the New Vision Baptist Church Monday night. Praise team members practicing found the tiny, three-hour-old infant, wrapped in a bloody towel with her umbilical chord still intact, and called police.

She is in the hospital and police are still looking for whoever left her.

The question many are asking is, why did this happen? One crisis pregnancy expert says it boils down to fear.

"I wish she'd came to us," Gwen Jenkins, director of the Savannah Care Center, told WTOC.

Jenkins says the center provides a free and confidential outreach program for crisis pregnancies. Having lived through a crisis pregnancy herself, Jenkins watched WTOC as the baby drama unfolded.

"I know what it's like to be by yourself and afraid and make hard decisions," she said.

Jenkins says the Baby Jane Doe story comes at a time when the Coastal Empire has seen a rise in crisis pregnancies. Her office gets 125 visits a month.

"Sometimes you make decisions others don't agree with, and she was obviously scared," Jenkins said. "I'm afraid she delivered this baby all by herself. She carried the baby to term and left it where she knew it would be found and get help."

While focus has been on the mother, who is still unknown, Jenkins does not rule out others.

"She was not necessarily by herself," she said, noting it's possible the baby's father, also scared, didn't want to be a father so soon. "It's a scary thing for young people."

Speaking from experience, Jenkins is pretty sure the mother is a teenager or young adult. If she had come to Savannah Care Center, Jenkins says she could have found her shelter, medical care and facilitated adoption procedures.

"Anything we could have done to help her through this crisis we would have," Jenkins said.

Now, she just worries whether the mother is okay, physically and emotionally.

"My concern is with her now. My heart is with her because she has to live with this," she said.

Jenkins believes we won't ever find out who the mother of Baby Jane Doe is. She says there is a stigma of shame involved, fear and now, possible charges of facilitating the depravation of a minor.

However, she urges any female who is going through a crisis pregnancy to contact the Savannah Care Center.

The numbers and addresses for Savannah Care Center and other programs available in the Savannah area are listed in the gray box above.

Reported by: Don Logana, dlogana@wtoc.com