Student parents rally together for resources

April 7, 2008 —

Chaunie Brusie didn't want to believe it. Hoping she had purchased a faulty home pregnancy test, Brusie visited SVSU's health center last fall in search of a different result.

The visit confirmed the home test's diagnosis: the 21-year-old was pregnant.

"I was in a big state of denial for a long time," Brusie said.

Like many student pregnancies, Brusie's was not planned. Her pregnancy created a new crop of problems.The nursing senior says telling her religious family was initially one of the issues.

"Telling them was very scary, but they were totally supportive," Brusie said. "My mom actually laughed."

Brusie also had the support of her then-boyfriend, Ben Brusie. The couple wed in December.

"It's nice to have someone to hold your hair when you get sick and listen to you complain," Brusie said.

Despite her network of support, she said the pregnancy forced her to battle with several stigmas.

"People see your belly and then immediately look at your ring finger," Brusie said. "You can almost see the people doing the math in their head when you tell them when you're due and when you got married."

The pregnancy also put a damper on her academic life. Brusie said she missed a great deal of classes due to the sickness associated with pregnancy.

Regardless of the obstacles, Brusie said she had everything necessary during her pregnancy, which has made it "the most ideal unplanned pregnancy."

Not all expecting student mothers make the journey with a significant other, though.

Alicia Gwizdala had family support during her unplanned pregnancy, but not the support of the father.

The 23-year-old communications senior became pregnant in early 2007.

"I thought it was going to be easy at first, even though I had just broken up with my boyfriend," Gwizdala said. "He said he'd help out, but that didn't really happen."

Although Gwizdala says the father is now playing a more active role in their son's life, she had to rely on friends and family for support during the pregnancy.

"I probably would have dropped out of school if it weren't for them," she said.

Gwizdala said the absence of her son's father prohibited her from always expressing herself.

"I couldn't be as open as I wanted to be sometimes," she said. "I would think that it's not fair to make my family always hear all of this."

Gwizdala said the experience and motherhood made her stronger and more independent.

Brusie's search for campus assistance during the early stages of her pregnancy opened her eyes to the lack of available resources for student parents.

She said that even the University's support system for such students was lacking.

"After the nurse told me, I just sat there and cried," she said. "And then the nurse just walked out of the room and left me there crying."

Brusie quickly learned all student insurance plans exclude those who are pregnant.

A counselor originally informed Brusie no financial aid existed for parents and only through outside research did Brusie find otherwise.

Gwizdala ran into similar obstacles during her pregnancy.

"I didn't know of any campus resources. I had to do everything on my own." she said. "It would've been nice if even the counseling centers had pamphlets for parents, but there was nothing."

After seeing the lack of resources for student parents on campus, Brusie met with Director of Counseling and Health Services Tony Thomson.

One of the first changes came in the form of a pregnancy resource packet created by Brusie, which included information on Medicaid, doctors, pregnancy centers, adoption agencies, and financial aid.

Brusie then formed Supporting Unplanned Pregnancies, Parents and Organizing Resources Together, a group dedicated toward offering support and assistance to student parents.

"For students going through this, it's too much to go through on your own," she said.

S.U.P.P.O.R.T. offers assistance in insurance, healthcare, financial aid, housing, and daycare.

S.U.P.P.O.R.T. will take place in a forum with University officials to discuss the possible implementation of these resources. Brusie said a daycare and breast-feeding stations on campus top the list.