Reaching the pharmacy, “Adeline” walked in thinking, “Clearway must be wrong; there’s no way I can be pregnant.” She purchased personal items with the hope that her period was just late and she could move on with her life. At Clearway her pregnancy test had come back positive, but it was way too early to find anything on an ultrasound. Two weeks clicked slowly by; no period and she knew she had to go back for the return appointment at Clearway.

The ultrasound showed exactly what she hoping not to see: a baby. Very early, but there it was. Time to do some soul searching. She had broken up with the father of the baby – it just didn’t work out and he already had children. He’s probably not going to be happy about this.

Adeline shared with the advocate that day that she had had a previous abortion only because her boyfriend at the time had physically threatened her. At least now she was in a better place in life and she had a large family that would support her. Even though this was such a shock, she knew she would parent even if the father of the baby didn’t help. Surprisingly, although he was shocked, he was ok with her decision to parent and would co-parent even though they had no plans to get back together.

The advocate talked to her about faith that day too. Even though she said she was a Christian, it was clear she had had some bad church experiences. The advocate talked to her about church being important but her relationship with God was the most important part of her faith. Churches can sometimes be messy, but being around people who believe in the same things is essential to help shore us up and be a support in difficult times in our life. Adeline agreed and would begin looking for a new church to attend.

Adeline gave birth to a beautiful baby girl.