BELLA

Bella* sent a text to the PDHC hotline desperately looking for a way to get an abortion – and quickly!  She just found out she was pregnant and was panicked. She couldn’t believe she was actually pregnant – after all, could that really happen after “just once?”

Through the text conversation Bella was told that PDHC doesn’t do abortions, but would be happy to sit down with her, listen to her concerns and offer her a free ultrasound. Bella agreed. The next day she arrived for her ultrasound appointment. Her confirming pregnancy test was positive, and Bella cried; she had hoped her home test had given her a false positive, but that was not the case. The nurse reviewed options and risks with Bella.  Bella received pregnancy information and materials about community resources and support that are available to women on this unexpected journey.

The nurse performed an ultrasound and showed Bella the screen. The tiny flicker of a baby's heartbeat could be seen and softly sounded throughout the quiet room. The nurse looked over at Bella in this moment, and saw tears in her eyes, but she also noticed a determined look on Bella’s face. The ultrasound was over and the nurse handed her pictures. Bella stated quietly, but firmly, “I have to have an abortion.”

After that day, no one could reach Bella by phone, text or email. Months passed, and the nurse assumed that Bella had an abortion. Then one day, several months later, Bella walked into the lobby of PDHC with a baby carrier in one arm and a diaper bag in the other. She asked to talk to the nurse whom she saw that first day she set foot in PDHC so she could explain what had happened in those months. 

Bella had gone home after the ultrasound and spent many hours crying, deliberating and looking at those ultrasound pictures. She said the one thing she couldn’t get out of her mind was the sound of her baby’s heartbeat in that quiet, dark room. Bella said she knew in that moment she wanted to keep her baby, but was afraid of the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy.  She didn’t know how she could make things work. During the weeks after her initial visit, she poured through the resource packet the nurse gave her and realized that there was a lot of help available. She decided to ask for help, so she could parent her child. Bella delivered a healthy baby girl and was able to come back to PDHC for baby items and additional support. 

Without that text conversation – the time spent with the nurse talking about options – the ultrasound showing Bella her baby’s heartbeat – and the many prayers for Bella, she could have been a statistic, but instead she is a mom!