THINK YOU MIGHT BE PREGNANT?
Early Signs of Pregnancy:
-Missed period
-Feeling nauseous
-Frequent urination
-Feeling tired
-Lightheadedness or fainting
-Breasts may feel tender or swollen
-Darkening of the nipples
-Backaches
-Food cravings
If you have had sexual intercourse, there is a possibility that you may be pregnant. Pregnancy symptoms differ from woman to woman and pregnancy to pregnancy, however, one of the most significant pregnancy symptoms is a delayed or missed menstrual cycle.
If you think you might be pregnant, please contact us to schedule a free and confidential appointment. Although these are common symptoms of pregnancy, they can also be symptoms of other things. You need a pregnancy test and a medical confirmation of pregnancy (ultrasound), to determine if you are indeed pregnant.
Our staff will give you the care, assistance and information to help you through this process.
What about the morning after pill?
Before taking the Morning After Pill you should get information about how it works and how it could affect your health.
Also known as Plan B or Plan B One Step, The Morning After Pill is a large dose of a powerful hormonal drug (levonorgestrel). When this drug is taken as a contraceptive in a daily routine, it is only available by prescription and is given in much smaller doses. A complete medical history would also be taken for the safety of the woman. If there is a history of smoking or heart disease it could be life threatening for her to take this drug.
None of these safeguards are done before a woman takes the Morning After Pill
Not always.
Pregnancy occurs at fertilization. If the woman has ovulated at the time of the sexual activity, an egg is present awaiting the sperm from the male. Fertilization can take place in as little as 30 minutes after intercourse. The newly formed embryonic human begins his life by traveling down the fallopian tube toward the uterus.
Plan B – is a series of pills taken within 2 hours of sexual intercourse; the first pill right after intercourse and the 2nd pill 12 hours later.
Plan B One Step – is one larger dose of the powerful drug.
If conception has taken place the Morning After Pill becomes an abortifacient:
- Slows the transport of the embryonic human through the fallopian tube increasing the chance of a very dangerous eptopic pregnancy
- Hardens the lining of the uterus so that the embryonic human cannot implant: thus causing an abortion
If conception has NOT taken place, this powerful drug was taken for nothing
- Nausea and vomiting (50% of the time)
- Increased chance of eptopic pregnancy (tubal pregnancy poses a grave threat to both mother and child)
- Can be abortifacient
Plan B does NOT protect you against sexually transmitted diseases.
How soon can I get a pregnancy test done?
If you think you may be pregnant, the first step is to call us to schedule an appointment for a pregnancy test. We understand your need for the most accurate answer as soon as possible. All of our Pregnancy Help Centers offer free quality pregnancy testing.
What is a pregnancy test and how does it work?
Pregnancy tests are designed to tell if your urine or blood contains a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). This hormone is produced right after a newly conceived baby attaches to the wall of a woman’s uterus.
This usually happens – but not always – about six days after conception has taken place. If you are pregnant, levels of hCG continue to rise rapidly, doubling every two to three days.
Two main types of pregnancy tests can let you know if you are pregnant: urine tests and blood tests.
Urine tests are done free of charge at all five of our Pregnancy Help Center locations. These tests can also be done at home or in a doctor’s office.
Blood tests are done at a doctor’s office, but are used less often than urine tests. These tests can detect pregnancy earlier than a urine test, or about six to eight days after ovulation, although tests results are not immediate as with a urine pregnancy test.
Our urine pregnancy tests are 97-99% accurate and can be done as early as two days after your first missed period.
We can provide the paperwork necessary for you to apply for Medicaid using our pregnancy test results.
What is a Fetal Ultrasound?
A fetal ultrasound is a test that uses sound waves to create an image of your unborn baby on a video screen. The image confirms the pregnancy, helps a doctor to know how your baby is doing, and gives you a peek at the baby as well.
When Can an Ultrasound be Performed?
An ultrasound scan can be done anytime during the pregnancy. Two of our Pregnancy Help Centers, North Broward and South Dade, provide a free of charge, limited fetal ultrasound service for the purpose of:
- Confirming the pregnancy (that there is a pregnancy in the uterus)
- Confirming viability (that the baby’s heart is beating)
- Taking measurements to estimate the gestational age (how far along the baby is developed in weeks and days)
- Giving an estimated due date.
pregnancy choices
When facing an unplanned pregnancy, a woman may feel overwhelmed, confused, embarrassed and afraid. It is important when deciding what to do, that she makes a informed decision. She also needs to know that she is not alone, our Pregnancy Help Centers are here to help her through this difficult decision.
There are three choices available to her:
Parenting
Choosing to parent your baby can be a rewarding experience as well as one of the biggest challenges of your life. Some questions you may want to ask yourself are:
– Will I be able to financially and emotionally take care of my baby?
– Will the baby’s father be supportive?
– Will my family be supportive?
– Will I be able to provide a loving and safe home for my baby?
– Will I need a babysitter after the baby is born?
If so, is that person responsible?
Choosing Parents for your Child (Adoption)
Some women choose to place their babies for adoption because they are unable to meet the financial, emotional or practical needs of a baby at this time. This is a loving and sacrificial choice because the mother will carry her baby for nine months and probably establish a strong emotional bond with her child. She makes the decision to select loving parents that can provide for the needs of her baby because she wants what is best for her baby.
The decision to place a baby for adoption can be made at any point in the pregnancy or after the baby is born.
There are different types of adoption the birth parents can choose from
Open adoption:
The birth mother meets and selects the adoptive parents, they have some contact after the baby is born, whatever is agreed upon.
Semi-open adoption:
Birth parents and adoptive parents will know each other by first names only, but an adoption agency or third party mediates all communication between families.
Closed (Confidential) adoption:
The adoption agency selects the adoptive parents and there is no contact or exchange of any identifying information (i.e. full names and addresses) between the birth mother and adoptive parents.
There are sacrifices and consequences with all parenting choices. When you consider adoption it forces you to think about the future for you and your child. Choosing other parents to raise your child isn’t an easy way out it is a mature act of selfless love for your child.
Abortion
Although abortion may appear on the surface to be a quick fix for an overwhelming problem, its effects can be devastating and can last a lifetime.
See “Abortion”