Pregnancy Care Center aims for healthy babies

Women faced with unplanned pregnancies have a resource for information and support through the Pregnancy Care Center, a nonprofit agency whose mission is health, education and prevention.

Fully funded by people and organizations within the community, the center is affiliated with Heartbeat International, CareNet and Alliance for Life, but is not affiliated with any religious organization. The center has seven employees and a roster of 80 volunteers.

The Pregnancy Care Center opened in 2000 offering nutrition, pregnancy testing and mentoring services in Greene and six surrounding counties.

"There are typically at least 2,400 single women encountering pregnancy in the community per year. If you're single it's usually very much a crisis, so now we are able to step into the gap," said Cindi Boston, executive director.

Weekly, the center serves 60 to 100 women, most of them single. Boston said in a typical week, 20 to 30 new clients come into the center.

Boston said that in the center's service area, there is an average of 400 teens each year who have unplanned pregnancies and about 1,900 women in the adult stage of life. The average age of clients served is 21.

"When a young woman comes in, our number one goal is to make her feel valued. A lot of the women that we see, when they think they have an unplanned pregnancy, they're devastated," Boston said.

"A big part of what we do is stand beside them. There's nothing like having somebody stand beside you to walk you through a crisis. It really makes all the difference," Boston added.

Second comes education. "We help educate her regarding her options regarding the pregnancy ... We have to empower them to make the best choice for themselves," Boston said.

Health services

In addition to pregnancy testing, the center offers ultrasound. "It helps women make sure their pregnancy is viable, moving forward as it should, and brings them to the place where they can make some decisions. A side benefit of ultrasound is that when they see that beautiful little baby, they really understand the importance of adequate health care and taking care of themselves," Boston said.

The women are then introduced to other programs including the Smoke-Free Babies Program and informed about other classes and the importance of seeing a physician.

Smoke-Free Babies, in cooperation with St. John's, is a new class. "It's a great program. One of the devastating things (resulting in) low-birth weight babies is smoking. If we can prevent some of those women from doing harm to their children it would be wonderful," Boston said.

The Building Healthy Babies prenatal nutrition program also promotes the health of baby and mother. For the past three years, the University of Missouri Extension Office has partnered with the center in presenting this program.

"It's been 100 percent effective in preventing pre-term births, low-birth weight babies and ICU babies," Boston said, describing the program as a "wonderful partnership, because we're getting these babies and women off to a healthy start."

The value of prevention

Ozarks Food Harvest is a sponsor, stocking a kitchen at the center. "We offer groceries to our clients; we can pack a bag for healthy items as well as food and laundry products. That really takes the financial burden off them," Boston said.

"When you can build a healthier baby, you reduce the risk of many ongoing health issues for the child. The line physicians use and like to get the babies above is 5.5 pounds. Anything under that is called a low-birth-weight baby. So not only are you investing in the health of the child and the emotional welfare of the mother, but you're also saving our hospitals, physicians and the state a lot of money, because they don't have to pay all that money out for services that may have been prevented," Boston said.

Additionally, clients are offered other services, including counseling and lactation education, as well as the Teen Parents and the Law Program.

Teen Parents and the Law is presented with Community Partnership of the Ozarks and has been ongoing since February. It is designed to promote an appreciation of the law, show how clients can use the law for their benefit, and to educate young families on how to avoid child abuse and neglect. Subjects covered include landlord and tenant law, legal consequences of relationships gone bad and parent's rights.

"One of the most important things we talk about is what are the good boundaries of a parent and what would put you in a situation where DFS might come and potentially remove your child from your home," Boston said.

Preparing for baby

Another help that the center offers is necessary items. The center has baby and maternity stores containing new and used donated items from individuals and businesses.

Clients earn points through attending programs or watching parenting videos. Points can be spent in the stores on items ranging from maternity clothes to strollers. "We don't foster the welfare mentality because they have to earn the items," Boston said.

Megan and Kevin, teen parents-to-be, believe the center has benefited them, especially the information and the nutrition program. Also, Megan has purchased items from the center's stores.

"The center has given me a lot of information on being pregnant and what happens when you're pregnant, how to take care of the baby, and emotional support," Megan said.

"I've learned a lot about what she'll be going through during each trimester and we're taking a nutrition class so we know what she needs to eat and stuff to get a healthy diet and to keep the baby in a good, healthy condition," Kevin said.

Pregnancy prevention

On the flip side is the center's newest program: Choices Abstinence Project. It is a prevention program designed to go into the schools, from seventh grade through college.

"We just kind of keep it real with them. We basically tell them that by saying no to alcohol, drugs and sex, they are saying yes to their future," said Rachel Chima, project coordinator.

Among the facts that Chima points out is, "Even with contraceptive and birth control, you're still at risk. The only risk that you have with abstinence sometimes can be that people will ridicule you. But at the end, who stands the strongest?"

Besides the center's programs, Boston has fund-raising events and projects under way, including the Walk for Life this fall.

Businesses can offer ongoing help through financial or give-in-kind donations, Boston said. This fall businesses or individuals can get involved in events such as the Walk for Life, which had about 900 participants last year.

"We've gotten a lot done, but we could only have done that with strong business partners, lots of donated time and effort on the part of many individuals and families from the community," Boston said.

In the future, Boston plans on further enhancing what the center offers clients and opening satellite branches. In January of next year, a new location may be opening in Aurora. "Southwest Missouri is our target area. We serve clients for more than a 100-mile radius," Boston said.