Facing unexpected pregnancy without a support network can feel intimidating. But when you connect with your local pregnancy center, you open doors to a broad range of supportive individuals and organizations ready to support you. Soon you’ll build your very own network of support for your medical, educational, emotional, and parenting needs.
Let’s look at how you can start building that support network today.
The Hub of Your Support Network: The Pregnancy Center
As soon as you reach out to your local pregnancy center, you will start discovering how much support is available to you right now. Because the pregnancy center staff believes you can succeed as a parent, they will listen to your concerns and then start connecting you with the kind of helpers you’re looking for.
A lot of support is available right at your pregnancy center. For instance, Choices Pregnancy Center in Redwood Falls and Marshall, Minnesota, provides early pregnancy ultrasound which can be vital in getting health insurance coverage. Choices Pregnancy Center also offers the free Earn While You Learn program, where your own on-staff mentor will equip you with emotional support, networking help, and parenting education.
Earn While You Learn
This no-cost program is a powerful way to learn everything you want to know about pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting. Plus, with every lesson you complete in your one-on-one sessions, you will earn Baby Bucks to spend shopping in Choices’ boutique, filled with all-new maternity and baby supplies.
The program also rewards you for engaging with your support network. Every time you keep a doctor appointment or visit with the Nurse-Family Partnership, for example, you’ll earn another Baby Buck for your account. Before you know it, you’ll have baby clothes and equipment, personal answers to your questions about pregnancy and parenting, and ongoing support from your community network.
What other kinds of support can you build into your network? Keep reading.
Medical Support
For your health and that of your baby, the earlier you connect with medical support the better. At Choices Pregnancy Center, the professionally-licensed nurse on staff will not only provide you with a limited obstetrical ultrasound but also discuss your other medical concerns and questions. She can help you connect with prenatal care providers to set you on the road to a healthy pregnancy and delivery.
For more insight on your ongoing medical care, Choices also offers urine testing for gonorrhea and chlamydia, two of the most common sexually transmitted diseases (STD/STI). If needed, our medical director, a locally practicing physician, can prescribe treatment for you right away.
Support for Your Welfare and Safety
Staying safe and stable is essential to a healthy, happy life. As you talk with your advocate/mentor at Choices Pregnancy Center, be sure to express any concerns you may have about your living situation, relationships, and financial welfare. Our advocates live and work in your community, so they know the people who offer help in those areas.
Our long list of network partners includes:
- WRAP (WoMen’s Rural Advocacy Program) to help people facing domestic violence
- New Horizons, support for victims of crime
- Public Health, for health insurance, WIC (Women, Infants, and Children food support), and more
- Nurse-Family Partnership, in-home visits to support new parents
For at-home safety for your child and other family members, we can also connect you with services like training in First Aid and CPR.
Free Safe Sleep training to help prevent SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) is available to you through the Earn While You Learn program. Completing the training earns you a portable Pack ‘n’ Play, thanks to our partners at Cradle of Hope.
Mental, Emotional, and Spiritual Support
Being a parent requires lots of stamina mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. To help support you in those areas, too, we have a network of people you may want on your team.
You may wish to work with a mental health care provider, attend a Bible study group or church services, or participate in community parenting groups. Check with your Choices Pregnancy Center advocate for help finding those that meet your particular needs.
Why So Much Support?
At Choices, we are staffed by parents. Personal experience teaches us that parenting works best when parents receive the support they need.
Plus, we know good, strong parents raising healthy families make our communities great places to live. We believe you can be that kind of parent—with support.
Your community will thank you. And, best of all, your kids will thank you.
Contact us today to start building the support network you want for your journey through pregnancy and beyond.