Pregnancy Center Offers Help, Answers

Pregnancy Center Offers Help, Answers

BOBBY ARDOIN

Editor/Consulting Writer

For four years local area women have been offered a confidential and comfortable environment for answering questions that might occur about their pregnancies and giving birth, members of the Opelousas Noon Rotary Club were told on Tuesday.

The non-profit Opelousas Pregnancy Center, now located on North Main Street, is providing counseling, family planning and ultrasound services to women who might be in need of help due to pregnancies, said Katie Roy, who represented the organization.

For women who earn the necessary qualifying points and have become mothers, Roy said there is also what she described as a baby boutique, which provides items needed to assist with raising newborns.

Roy estimated that the Pregnancy Center services about 60 women and 10 new clients each month.

The Pregnancy Center is supported financially by private donors, said Roy. The organization however also hosts two major fundraisers.

One fund raising event is an impending Oct. 26 annual Gala. A 5k run which starts in Opelousas South City Park, provides funding during the spring, Roy pointed out.

Help And Educational Classes

Roy added that the Pregnancy Center has developed educational programs once a month that centers around family planning.

“For instance, we are providing classes on breastfeeding. If women can’t attend the classes physically, we will send the information straight to their cellphones,” Roy said.

There are also plans for the Pregnancy Center to expand their services with area youths, Roy said.

“It’s important to reach out to the younger kids. Some of them are scared and they don’t always know what to do,” added Roy.

Adoptive Answers

Roy said the Pregnancy Center also facilitates women who might consider adopting their child.

“We have programs where we educate the mothers. We do have contacts with adoption agencies if that becomes an option,” Roy said.

In some cases, according to Roy, prospective mothers choose abortions rather than committing to adopting their child.

“In some cases we find that the mother just doesn’t want to give the baby away. In their minds, abortion is better,” said Roy.

Abortion Pills In Louisiana

Starting in 2022, Roy said that abortion is illegal in Louisiana.

However women statewide are still having abortions, with many of those terminated pregnancies occurring through abortion pills delivered in the mail.

The first pill stops a baby’s growth. The second abortion pill usually expels the baby, said Roy.

Those who request assistance can undergo pregnancy tests at the Pregnancy Center, Roy said. 

Roy pointed out that sometimes during pregnancy testing, potential mothers hear the heartbeat of a child. Sometimes it’s those instances that provide a different perspective to the pregnant woman, she said.

Occasionally women are unable to afford a child or they encounter other issues surrounding pregnancies.

That’s when the Pregnancy Center steps in with assistance, said Roy.

“Many times women who are pregnant need someone who is going to be there to listen and set goals for themselves,” Roy pointed out.