The Pregnancy Care Center ... Help Is Closer Than You Think.

Crisis pregnancy centers believe that a woman deserves real choices when she faces an unexpected pregnancy. Even if a mother is young, poor, in school, in a bad relationship, or otherwise unready to raise a child, she should not be told that abortion is her only sensible and realistic option. Volunteers and professionals at over 3,000 pregnancy care centers understand the challenges that unexpected pregnancy may present. That is why all over the country, they quietly offer to mothers the support and resources that will help them overcome the challenges they face in pregnancy, adoption, or parenthood.

Women who visit pregnancy centers come from diverse backgrounds, and each mother has her own unique story. Pregnancy centers thus provide as much or as little assistance as an individual woman needs. Some women may only seek information, a medical referral, or a confidential conversation. Others may desire a long-term supportive relationship with the counselor, and may often return to the center for clothes, furniture, food, diapers, or other assistance. Pregnancy centers tailor their services to each particular woman's needs, empowering her to make the best decision she can for herself and her baby.

In a typical visit to a pregnancy center, a woman who thinks she is pregnant will sit down with a counselor who will try to get to know her - - "who she is, where she is," as one Massachusetts counselor phrased it. A counselor in Oregon described one of her center's goals for its clients as trying "to reduce their anxiety from the minute they walk in." The counselor will invite the woman to share some information about herself, her medical history, and her initial thoughts regarding pregnancy and why the woman may or may not perceive it as a problem. Recognizing the significant influence that parents, partners, or peers have on women's decisions about childbearing and abortion, counselors often encourage the woman to discuss important relationships in her life. The woman will then take a free pregnancy test. While awaiting the results, counselors at some centers may play a video with information about pregnancy, parenting, adoption, and abortion if the woman is interested. She could also choose to talk more with the counselor, or to be left alone with companions or her own thoughts.

If the woman is pregnant, the counselor will help estimate her due date and talk with her in more detail about her options. The counselor will also share pamphlets and information about the baby's current stage of development and the mother's health.

The mother and the counselor will then discuss what resources the mother has and what additional help she might need from family, friends, or the community. Staff at the pregnancy center will connect her to this support as best they can. Often a mother's first priority is to obtain medical care for herself and her baby. Many pregnancy centers now offer prenatal care and ultrasound at their offices, or else can ...