The one time I called the police, they came they saw and they "said you may leave but you must leave your baby with your husband." I had bruises, and my husband had wrenched my my arm behind my back and my left arm was pretty useless.... (One of the police officers was a woman.)

To the police, I said " I am going, and I am bringing my baby - try and stop me..."

Of course that was about 22 years ago... and I had already been planning my escape.. I started in the hospital right after the birth of my son..

I worked with a woman, whom I very much respected - had no idea that she was being abused... and I asked myself "how could you miss the signs? but I did"..
She had been married about 7 years and had just had a baby... He started sleeping with a loaded shotgun - telling her "see what you will get if you leave me"..
She also planned her escape and eventually made it...

I guess my whole point is "Thank God, times have changed and there are womens shelters, and the police have also become aware, also you just never know who is sufferring from abuse"...

The one question that many people have asked thru the years is "why bring a baby into that kinda of marriage?"

Well for myself and for the woman that I spoke about, having a baby to love and protect overrode the brain washing by our husbands that we were worthless.
So maybe it is just God's way of stepping in and loving us enough to save us?

I choose to think of it in that way even if people don't understand...though I do understand why other people have a problem understanding - it is a very complicated issue.