{"id":24832,"date":"2017-05-30T09:30:18","date_gmt":"2017-05-30T13:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/?p=24832"},"modified":"2023-01-11T16:02:19","modified_gmt":"2023-01-11T21:02:19","slug":"i-cant-think-about-being-pregnant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/storiesoffaith\/2017\/05\/30\/i-cant-think-about-being-pregnant\/","title":{"rendered":"“I can’t have a baby right now” – Lethbridge Pregnancy Care Centre"},"content":{"rendered":"

Submitted by Lethbridge Pregnancy Care Centre<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t have a baby right now.\u00a0 I want my life \u2013 I want to go to school, and then work for awhile and then<\/u> have a baby.\u00a0 Just not right now.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

That is how 18-year old Amelia* opened the conversation as she flopped down in a chair in the counseling room at the Lethbridge Pregnancy Care Centre.\u00a0 She sounded nonchalant and tried to be brave about it, but the tear rolling down her cheek told a different story.<\/p>\n

A warm welcome to clients as they enter LPCC<\/p><\/div>\n

The Lethbridge Pregnancy Care Centre (LPCC) has been open since November 2013, and Amelia\u2019s story is not unique.\u00a0 In just a few short years, almost 500 women have come
\nthrough the front doors, all with their own unique, and often heart-breaking, stories and situations.<\/p>\n

The mission of LPCC is to be a safe place for women and men facing an unplanned pregnancy to receive accurate information on all their options, without judgment or condemnation \u2013 just compassion and care.<\/p>\n

Statistics tell us that approximately 40% of pregnancies across the country are unintended, a number which represents so many women in Canada every year who are faced with making a life-changing decision.\u00a0 Pregnancy care centres are there to walk with these women as they make those decisions, to ensure that they know that they\u2019re not alone.<\/p>\n

For Amelia, abortion seemed to be the only option.\u00a0 Just finishing high school, she had her whole life ahead of her.\u00a0 The possibilities were endless \u2013 post-secondary education, a career, travel.\u00a0 But all of those things seemed to be gone, in the face of an unplanned pregnancy.<\/p>\n

Many women come to LPCC looking for a free pregnancy test, but more valuable than the free test is the knowledge that someone is there with her when the results come up.\u00a0 LPCC is not a medical facility \u2013 all pregnancies need to be confirmed by a doctor.\u00a0 We don\u2019t have special pregnancy tests \u2013 just a deep desire to provide a listening ear in a very difficult time.<\/p>\n

We strongly respect a woman\u2019s right to choose and are committed to journeying with our clients, whichever option they choose.\u00a0 Our clients are making a life-changing decision and they need to know that they\u2019re not alone.<\/p>\n

Just like when making any major decision, it\u2019s important to have all the information before making a choice.\u00a0 The LPCC offers full and accurate information on all three options \u2013 abortion, adoption & parenting \u2013 as our clients want to hear about them.<\/p>\n

Amelia came into the Centre seeing abortion as her only choice, but she also wanted to talk about her other options.\u00a0 After learning about what an abortion procedure would entail and the possible long-term emotional struggles an abortion can bring, Amelia asked about parenting.\u00a0 While she didn\u2019t know how that could possibly work out, there was a hint of longing in her voice as she talked about the idea of being a mom.<\/p>\n

LPCC is just one of many helping agencies in Lethbridge, and we have developed fantastic working relationships with many other organizations within the city.<\/p>\n

Clothing and baby supplies for LPCC clients<\/p><\/div>\n

For our clients who are interested in parenting but don\u2019t see how that could be possible, we are able to show them that there is help available.\u00a0 This can look like so many things \u2013 helping our clients look for suitable housing, finding employment training possibilities, helping apply for daycare subsidies, or finding tangible resources like the food bank.\u00a0 Within the Centre itself, there is a clothing room with maternity and baby clothes, all generously donated by the community, that our clients can access once a month until their baby is two years old.\u00a0 For our moms who are struggling with finances after baby is born, we are able to help out with diapers and formula as we help them find ways to budget and support themselves and their baby.<\/p>\n

When Amelia left the Centre that day, she\u2019d received information about abortion procedures, including the physical and emotional risks that come along with that.\u00a0 She\u2019d found out that if she chose to parent, there were agencies within the city that would come alongside and help her.\u00a0 She had learned about open adoption, that adoption can look quite different now than it used to.\u00a0 Amelia\u2019s situation was no different than when she\u2019d walked into the Centre \u2013 she was still pregnant.\u00a0 But she knew she had options, and she knew that there was someone there who cared for her, whatever option she chose.<\/p>\n

We get to watch the little ones grow while supporting mom<\/p><\/div>\n

For the staff and the volunteers of LPCC, that is why they are there.\u00a0 To walk alongside women and men in crisis \u2013 to let their clients know that they are loved and that they have value.\u00a0 To build relationship, and through that relationship, share the hope and love that we have been given.<\/p>\n

For some women, however, that love and hope is needed after<\/u> the decision has been made.\u00a0 Every year, tens of thousands of women in Canada make the decision to place their child for adoption or to terminate a pregnancy.\u00a0 These women are left grieving, and often feeling that they have no one to turn to.\u00a0 Complete love and acceptance permeate through the grief groups that LPCC offers to these women who find themselves struggling after their decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t do it \u2013 I just couldn\u2019t do it.\u00a0 My abortion appointment was this morning, but I just couldn\u2019t go \u2013 I couldn\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Amelia\u2019s eyes shone with tears as she spoke.\u00a0 \u201cI know it\u2019s not going to be easy, but I\u2019m going to have my baby.\u00a0 I know that I\u2019ll have help and I can do this, because I\u2019m not alone.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"This charity has been certified by the Canadian Council of Christian Charities. Charities that display our Seal of Accountability demonstrate ongoing compliance with high standards of financial and organizational integrity. To find out more about this charity or other Certified charities, visit <\/strong>giveconfidently.ca<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Submitted by Lethbridge Pregnancy Care Centre \u201cI can\u2019t have a baby right now.\u00a0 I want my life \u2013 I want to go to school, and then work for awhile and then have a baby.\u00a0 Just not right now.\u201d That is how 18-year old Amelia* opened the conversation as she flopped… More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":24835,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ts_fic_featured_image_caption":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[137],"tags":[240,148],"series":[],"class_list":["post-24832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-charities","tag-religion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24832"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=24832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}