Recovering Mothers Anonymous Preamble
Recovering Mothers Anonymous (RMA) is a fellowship of women, who are mothers, who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may find self-forgiveness and help other mothers to recover from having the lived experience of using alcohol or other harmful substance while pregnant.
There are no dues or fees for RMA membership; we are self- supporting through our own contributions. There are no requirements for attendance.
The only requirement for membership is a desire for healing through connections with other mothers. RMA is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy, neither endorses nor opposes any causes.
RMA recognizes that there is no exclusive path to recovery for all women; many of us use the Twelve Steps (adapted for RMA) as a program of recovery. We share our experience, strength, hope, strategies, challenges, laughter, and tears with one another. We can be our true selves with a community of women who understand, know, and love us.
RMA has but one purpose: To support women who have used during pregnancy on their recovery journey to live a life filled with hope, meaning, and purpose.
The Twelve Steps of RMA
1. We admitted we were powerless over having used alcohol, or other substances, during pregnancy — that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and lives over to the care of God as we understood God.
4. Made a searching and fearless personal inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being, the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood God, praying only for knowledge of God’s will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other mothers, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
The Serenity Prayer
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
We thank Alcoholics Anonymous for allowing RMA to borrow and adapt the Twelve Steps for use by mothers that have used alcohol or other substances during their
pregnancy or pregnancies. (For more Information on the twelve steps and how they developed, please contact Alcoholics Anonymous.)