At Life’s Choices, we work diligently towards improving maternal health. This is a big part of why we exist, because we value the lives and stories of babies and their mothers. Read more below about how we accomplish this task.
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, centers like ours have received mixed attention. While support from others has often been overwhelming, there have been quite a few instances of misinformation being shared about clinics like us. This type of negativity often comes from a simple lack of understanding as to who we are and what we offer. The truth is that our efforts are focused on promoting and improving the health of individuals and families, particularly those experiencing a pregnancy, and we are ready to prove it! Here are just a few examples of how we are improving maternal health in our communities.
– Early Pregnancy Confirmation –
One of the most important steps to promoting maternal health is through early pregnancy confirmation. If a pregnancy is confirmed in its early stages, a woman has more time to review her options regarding her pregnancy. The sooner a pregnancy is confirmed, the sooner certain care can be obtained for the mother and her baby.
How do we offer early pregnancy confirmation? Through our pregnancy testing and ultrasound services. At Life’s Choices our pregnancy tests are 99% accurate when used from the first day of your expected period. Our laboratory grade pregnancy tests detect the presence of the pregnancy hormone, hCG in a patient’s urine. This type of pregnancy test is much preferable to the tests a woman can find at a convenience store. And of course, our services are all offered at no cost. Women who may be pregnant deserve accessible and quality care, and that starts with a pregnancy test.
Our next step in early pregnancy confirmation is providing women with access to an ultrasound. This is something we happily offer at our Kutztown office. If a woman’s pregnancy test is positive, we highly encourage her to schedule an ultrasound with us. Our trained sonographer will be able to ascertain that the pregnancy is implanted in the uterus and determine the gestational age. Both of these pieces of information are vital to maternal-fetal health. If the pregnancy is not implanted in the uterus as it should be, that should be known as soon as possible, to keep the woman safe. The gestational age helps the woman know what her next steps are in caring for herself and her pregnancy.
– STD Screenings –
If a woman is pregnant, she must take extra care that she is as healthy as possible, which includes STD screenings. When a pregnant woman is coming to our office for care, we always offer testing for the two most common sexually transmitted infections, chlamydia and gonorrhea. If a mother has a sexually transmitted disease/infection, that could significantly impact her health during her pregnancy. In addition, a sexually transmitted infection/disease could create some complications for the growing baby.
We can offer treatment for the two aforementioned infections, and we have referrals for further testing/treatment options. Life’s Choices also offers education and information about STD prevention, so that she can maintain sexual health throughout the rest of her pregnancy.
– Educational Follow-Up –
Finally, Life’s Choices is improving maternal health by providing educational follow-up care with our Baby Bundle and other classes. Women sometimes come to us with questions and we do our best to make sure she leaves with answers. A future mother has a lot to think about, and could be feeling overwhelmed. We offer a huge variety of class options for mothers (and fathers) in all walks of life. Our class topics include pregnancy health, the childbirth process, infant and toddler nutrition, and plenty more.
At Life’s Choices, our services are designed to provide support for women and families all throughout the pregnancy and even beyond that. We care so much about the health of children and their parents.
Maintaining maternal health is a big task, and we are here to help women and families do just that. We know that a pregnancy is a lot to handle, especially if it is unexpected. A woman can come to our office for care, and for support. She can evaluate her options and get a few of her big questions answered. At Life’s Choices, our goal is to promote the health of our community, specifically by supporting individual lives. Hear from a recent patient about how Life’s Choices played a key role in improving maternal health in her situation:
“We were having our first baby and all the info and guidance from the Life’s Choices staff helped to ease so much of my anxiety. Then, when I lost my job while on maternity leave, the resources that we were given like the grocery gift cards and baby essentials helped make ends meet with no income coming in. We are so, so profoundly grateful and hope one day to also be able to give back to pay the blessings forward.” LC Client