Mothers and daughters learn about growing up, and God’s plan for them as their bodies begin to change into women at the Mother/Daughter Program on Feb. 23.
The Mother/Daughter Program, organized by Director Beth Nguyen from the Diocesan Office of Laity, Family and Life, enlisted the help of other women, Monica Gatlin, Therese Castillo, Mariana Cady, Sarah Gomez and Mary Pat Van Epps, the program’s developer and presenter. Van Epps’s fertility program has been used in several dioceses throughout the country.
The purpose of the program is to help facilitate a dialogue between mothers and daughters. These conversations include changes occurring during puberty, issues of fertility, and the beauty and gift of being a woman.
“We explain the beginning stages of human development; life beginning at conception,” Nguyen said, adding, “we do tell them what conception is, but we don’t get into specifics. We call it ‘the marriage act’ – reserved for a man and a woman in the sacrament of marriage.”
“Respect for Life was a big part of the program, because we talk about how our bodies are changing, potentially getting ready to become mothers one day,” Nguyen said. “The program is designed to make it simple for that age group to understand, so they use terms like “new baby bed” to explain what their bodies go through every month,” she said. “It also gives mom’s words to use that are age-appropriate as well.”