Real Alternatives
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The nonprofit organization Real Alternatives provides life-affirming support services to women experiencing unexpected pregnancy. For women who feel pressured by their families, doctors, partners, or friends to have an abortion, Real Alternatives provides guidance in addressing the situation.

Importantly, women should not sign any document that serves as an agreement to have an abortion, or any certification that acknowledges such an agreement. It is unlawful for anyone to force women into signing a document or submitting to a medical procedure. If a doctor chooses to ignore your explicit refusal, you have the right to report him or her to the county courthouse and make a formal complaint.

If your family threatens to withdraw financial support, the state has the means to provide assistance with housing and finances during and after pregnancy. The state will also hold the father liable to support the child regardless of his inclination toward abortion.

For compassionate, nonjudgmental counseling and assistance, call Real Alternatives at (888) LIFE AID or visit www.realalternatives.org.

Real Alternatives
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Real Alternatives has helped hundred of thousands of women battle with crises involving pregnancy, sexual health, and parenting. Real Alternatives coordinates with a network of service providers in Indiana, Michigan, and Pennsylvania to ensure that they possess all the requirements, training, and experience to handle pro-life missions in their respective communities.

In addition to the preliminary evaluation necessary to sign on service providers, Real Alternatives also exercises an annual monitoring process which consists of three steps: corporate administration and program profile review; facility inspection; and reimbursement compliance review.

During the corporate administration and program profile review, Real Alternatives looks over all the outlined policies that the service providers agreed to since joining the program. The policies cover all areas pertaining to adoption, anti-discrimination, client confidentiality, English proficiency, sexual harassment, and spiritual issues. At the same time, Real Alternatives goes through a service provider’s training plan and materials, corporate documents, client services, and client-referral sources.

The facility inspection includes an assessment of both the physical site (counseling areas, waiting area, fire safety equipment, and provisions for disabled people), service website, and all the updated state background checks and clearances necessary to operate in the area.

The last step of the annual monitoring is the reimbursement compliance review, which involves spot-checking of the client files to ensure the accuracy of billing. Real Alternatives reimburses service providers with a fee based on the type of counseling, class, or mentoring that has been delivered to clients.

Real Alternatives
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Since being established in 1996, Real Alternatives has helped over 300,000 women in Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Michigan. Real Alternatives’ Pregnancy and Parenting Support Services Program promotes childbirth in place of abortion and offers assistance not only during pregnancy but also after birth.

US citizens living in the three states who are pregnant are eligible to receive assistance. Expectant mothers are given access to education, mentoring, counseling, and classes that cover essential areas of parenting, such as breast-feeding, child care, nutrition, financial accountability, and many others.

Once the child is born, Real Alternatives extends its support to new moms by referring them to service providers that can supply food, baby clothing and furniture, medical care, temporary housing, and financial assistance. All expenses are covered, so that the mother can continue rearing her child with less burden and emotional stress. The support continues should the mother decide to go back to school or apply for a job.

Real Alternatives
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At Real Alternatives, trained counselors and staff understand that an unplanned or crisis pregnancy can present a woman with the most challenging circumstances of her life. The Pennsylvania-based nonprofit organization provides free, nonjudgmental counseling, parenting classes, and other services to women in three states in an effort to provide Real Alternatives to abortion.

Although the early signs of pregnancy can go undetected, there is a group of common symptoms indicating a woman may be pregnant.

A missed period is often the first signal that causes a woman concern about whether or not she is pregnant.

Morning sickness, the feeling of nausea that more than half of all women experience during their first trimester, can begin at about the sixth week of pregnancy. The nausea is often accompanied by vomiting. Morning sickness is actually misnamed, since it can occur at any time of day.

Tiredness and mood swings are also common early in pregnancy. This is due to the major hormonal changes taking place in the woman’s body that can exacerbate emotional reactions.

Tender or sore breasts are another early pregnancy symptom, as are increased visibility of the veins in the breasts and a darkening of the nipples.

Additional symptoms include more frequent urination, body temperature changes, elevated blood pressure, bloating, and breakouts.

While these symptoms can be stressful, they are not typically dangerous. An exception is when repeated vomiting results in malnutrition or an electrolyte imbalance.

Any woman who suspects she may be pregnant should reach out for medical care and, if she finds herself in distress, for compassionate counseling.

Real Alternatives
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A Pennsylvania-based pregnancy support organization, Real Alternatives has served thousands of women through its pregnancy resource centers. Real Alternatives recently named Catholic Social Services as its Pennsylvania Service Provider of the Year for the fifth consecutive year. The annual honor recognizes the group that has assisted the highest number of pregnant women in the state.

As part of its service to women with unplanned or crisis pregnancies, Catholic Social Services operates Beautiful Beginnings, a program that has brought mobile pregnancy support services to women in Philadelphia and nearby counties. The program also focuses on supporting those becoming parents for the first time.

Beautiful Beginnings provides these new parents with resources ranging from seminars and workshops on parenting to free diapers. Parents can also take advantage of the program’s counseling services and make connections with other parents through events such as Parent Cafes.

For more information about Beautiful Beginnings and other programs offered by Catholic Social Services to support new mothers and fathers, visit cssphiladelphia.org/prenatal-and-parenting-programs/.

Real Alternatives
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Real Alternatives provides options to women in unexpected pregnancies, along with support throughout the first year of their babies’ lives. In Pennsylvania, Real Alternatives has achieved a significant decrease in abortion rates through the state’s Alternatives to Abortion Program.

Created to provide women facing unplanned pregnancies with free life-affirming support services, Pennsylvania Alternatives to Abortion encompasses 89 centers throughout the state. These centers provide women with free pregnancy test kits, references to agencies that provide everything from food to medical care and financial assistance, counseling, classes on birth and parenting, and other services.

Most importantly, centers funded by the program offer support from people who care. A national poll indicated that over 80 percent of women who chose abortion would have made a different choice with support from even a single person. Experienced counselors at these pregnancy centers become that person for any woman who wants to choose life for her baby.

Real Alternatives
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An unplanned pregnancy can lead to stress and uncertainty; you may feel overwhelmed by the decisions you need to make and worry about the future. Taking the time to find healthy ways to cope with these emotions can help to build up your confidence and prepare you for this major change in your life. Here are four tips for coping with an unplanned pregnancy.

1. Seek support. Support from friends and family members will make it easier to cope with your pregnancy. Surround yourself with positive people, and avoid those who judge or criticize. You may find it helpful to meet with other women who are also learning to cope with an unintended pregnancy. It is beneficial to have a support network.

2. Look for resources. Many organizations provide resources for pregnant women who need help in continuing their education, affording life necessities, and preparing for parenting. Consult local nonprofit pro-life groups or blogs devoted to providing resources and information on pre-natal care and parenting. Some government-sponsored programs also offer resources and information.

3. Stay positive. You may feel apprehensive and worry about your ability to parent. Focusing on positive thoughts can help combat these misgivings and ease the stress of uncertainty. For example, try to imagine the joy of watching your child grow up, or watching him or her experience life’s firsts.

4. Don’t give up on your dreams. Refrain from equating motherhood with giving up on your dreams for the future. It may take you longer to achieve those dreams. There are resources available to assist and support you in completing your education, obtaining employment, reaching your goals and finding your dreams.

Ultrasound Technology
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Dedicated to assisting women throughout Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Indiana who are experiencing crisis pregnancies, Real Alternatives provides much-needed counseling, material support, and parenting education to its clients, free of charge. Real Alternatives additionally supplies information designed to educate the public about the medical risks of abortion, and about the scientific basis for a life-affirming point of view.

Ultrasound technology, invented more than half a century ago, has become more and more accurate at delineating the development of babies before birth. The technique uses high-frequency sound waves, harmlessly bounced back from the physical body of the unborn child, to create black-and-white images of their subject.

In Glasgow, Scotland, Tom Brown, Ian Donald, and John McVicar worked together to create the first clinical uses for ultrasound technology, which they debuted in 1956. Brown was an engineer, Donald an obstetrician, and McVicar a gynecological registrar. They grounded their technology in a previous system used to pinpoint flaws in the design of naval vessels. In fact, Donald gained his early observations on the capabilities of echo-sounding technologies from his experiences in the Royal Air Force during World War II.

Donald and his coauthors published an article on their work in a 1958 issue of the journal The Lancet. “Investigation of Abdominal Masses by Pulsed Ultrasound” offered the first ultrasound images showing fetal development, and went on to achieve landmark status in the medical profession.

Real Alternatives
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As a partner to government social service agencies in three Midwestern states, Pennsylvania-based Real Alternatives provides women with free, nonjudgmental counseling, referrals, and information on alternatives to abortion. The nonprofit works from a core value of compassion for every woman who seeks its services. Its toll-free number, 1-888-LIFE-AID, connects women experiencing crisis pregnancies with trained counselors who have either undergone crisis pregnancies themselves or assisted others in the same circumstances.

Experts in the field of counseling note that emotional intelligence – and the empathy and compassion that tend to come with it – is an essential trait for any counselor to develop. Counselors who demonstrate compassion and empathy enable clients to tell their own stories, going the extra mile to share and affirm their feelings at every step along the way. The counselors’ responsiveness enables them to form a strong connection with their clients, who feel heard and respected. As a result, the counselors pave the way for the women to make decisions in their own best interests.

Real Alternatives
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A January 2018 Marist Poll found that 56% of Americans consider abortion to be morally wrong. According to the Marist Poll, more Americans than not (more than 20%) think that abortion does a woman more harm than good, in the long run. A 2018 Gallup poll found that 48 percent of Americans believe that abortion is morally wrong; a 2017 Pew poll found that 44 percent of Americans believe having an abortion is morally wrong.

The thoughts and beliefs reflected in these polls, as well as modern medical advances that make it difficult to deny the humanity of an unborn child, have been consistently moving in support of life. Women are seeking life-affirming options and more and more women are choosing not to abort. Fourteen states in America now fund programs to provide alternatives to abortion to women in unexpected pregnancies. Women in Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Michigan in need of pregnancy support can call Real Alternatives at 1-888-LIFE-AID.

Real Alternatives
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Almost 20 million Americans are affected by an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) annually, according to the National Institutes of Health, and the number is rising, as more people engage in a risky sexual lifestyle by having more sexual partners over the course of their lives.

STDs often do not present symptoms, making it especially important for people who are sexually active and who have multiple partners to get tested regularly. Women, in particular, are less likely to experience symptoms. If left untreated, STDs can be passed to sexual partners and develop into serious health conditions such as AIDS. Medical professionals can treat many STDs effectively if they are detected early.

Behaviors such as sharing needles and living a risky sexual lifestyle can lead to the transmission of STDs. The only 100% way to ensure that you do not contract an STD is by abstaining from sex and/or by committing to a relationship where both partners are monogamous (choose one mate for life) and do not have an STD.

If you are sexually active and not in a monogamous relationship, you can still reduce your risk of getting sexually transmitted infections. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends reducing the number of sex partners and to get tested immediately for STIs.

If you are concerned about whether you have an STD, call 1-888-LIFE-AID to speak with a counselor who can provide more information and a referral for confidential testing. To find a STD testing center near you, go to https://gettested.cdc.gov/.

Adoption
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For women who are pregnant and not ready to raise a child, adoption is a brave choice that can benefit the child and birth mother, as well as the baby’s new family. Real Alternatives can help women considering this option through its network of pregnancy support centers, where trained counselors can work with mothers to discuss their situation and connect them with licensed adoption agencies.

Birth mothers can benefit from adoption in a number of ways. Knowing that her child has been placed with a loving family can bring significant comfort to the birth mother while she pursues an education, career, or other life goals that would have been difficult while raising a child. Moreover, pregnancy support centers can provide ongoing assistance and counseling for the birth mother and family members if necessary.

When a baby is placed with the new family, the birth mother can find joy in knowing that her difficult decision has brought tremendous happiness to another family and that it was made with great love and with the baby’s best interests in mind.

STDs
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Real Alternatives puts women dealing with unexpected pregnancies in touch with helpful programs and services. In addition to unplanned pregnancy, Real Alternatives operates in areas related to sexual health and STD prevention.

Unexpected pregnancy is not the only reason to refrain from sexual intercourse at a young age, or at any time outside of a committed, trusting relationship. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are another serious consequence to consider. In recent years, STDs have reached epidemic levels in the United States, with more than 20 unique infectious diseases impacting over 20 million American men and women. Every year, the US government addresses the effects of STDs with response efforts in excess of $16 billion.

Knowledge and prevention represent an individual’s two strongest weapons against STDs, which can be contracted by any sexually active individual. Age, gender, race, economic background, and other identifying characteristics have nothing to do with contracting an STD. That said, certain populations are more at risk than others. More than 66 percent of STD cases in America are found in individuals under the age of 25, for example.

Sexually active individuals must be highly vigilant in regard to the symptoms of a possible STD. In many cases, particularly in women, the symptoms do not show immediately. In some cases, a disease may lie dormant for years at a time. Even when there are no symptoms, the disease can be transmitted.

There are a number of ways to mitigate the chances of contracting an STD, but abstaining from sexual intercourse is the only way to completely prevent the chances of infection.

Abortion
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Founded to provide pregnancy and parenting support to new and expectant mothers, Real Alternatives is committed to educating women about their options. Real Alternatives helps women to understand what is involved in an abortion, so that they can make informed choices. Medical abortions, also known as chemical abortions, involve the use of a hormone-blocking chemical known as mifepristone. Mifepristone is colloquially known as the abortion pill, as well as RU-486 this chemical is used to end an early pregnancy by inducing an abortion. In some cases, the woman will need to take a second drug, misoprostol to complete the abortion. Misoprostol causes the womb to contract; the contractions expel the baby from the womb. Medical abortions are typically only available to women who are nine or fewer weeks into pregnancy.

After the ninth week of pregnancy, women seeking abortions who are still in their first trimester are more likely to undergo vacuum aspiration, a surgical procedure in which a physician will numb the cervix and insert a catheter into the woman’s cervix. The catheter is connected to a machine that acts like a vacuum cleaner. The fetus is sucked out of the womb through the catheter.

Usually during a second trimester (the fourth, fifth, and sixth months of pregnancy), to perform an abortion, the doctor opens (dilates) the cervix and empties (evacuates) the uterus. This method is known as dilation and evacuation (D & E).
When this abortion method is used in the second trimester, the doctor may insert a sponge-like material into the cervix. As the sponge gets wet it becomes larger, opening the mouth of the cervix. The doctor will remove the sponge two to sixteen hours later. The doctor uses forceps to remove the fetus or fetal parts; the doctor may also suction the fetus or fetal parts by vacuum aspiration using a larger catheter than described for the first trimester. The afterbirth is most commonly removed by vacuum aspiration.
Finally, late-term abortions are abortions performed between 24 and 38 weeks gestation.
An abortion at this stage of your pregnancy may only be done if your physician reasonably believes that it is necessary to prevent either your death or a substantial and irreversible impairment of one of your major bodily functions.

When a pregnancy is ended at this stage, one of two procedures is performed: labor induction or cesarean section.
Labor and delivery of the fetus during the third trimester are similar to childbirth. The duration of labor depends on the size of the baby and the “readiness” of the womb.
If labor cannot be started by injecting medicine into the pregnant woman, or if the pregnant woman is too sick to undergo labor, a cesarean section may be done.
Another type of late term abortion that is also performed is known as partial birth abortion. Partial birth abortion is legal in only 18 states.

Real Alternatives
Image: cssphiladelphia.org

A nonprofit organization based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Real Alternatives engages with women facing unplanned and crisis pregnancies in providing compassionate and practical support. Affirming life, Real Alternatives operates as part of the state-funded Alternatives to Abortion initiative and teams up with dozens of qualified support service providers statewide.

As reported in the National Right to Life News, Real Alternatives has consistently selected Catholic Social Services as the recipient of its Pennsylvania Service Provider of the Year award. In 2015 alone, the Philadelphia organization met the needs of some 5,500 pregnant women, with core services including parenting and prenatal support that included baby showers held monthly at many of its greater Philadelphia locations.

Real Alternatives’ vice president of operations described the award as reflecting Catholic Social Services’ longstanding commitment to going “above and beyond” what is required in reaching out to young women in the urban communities it serves. Coordinated efforts by the group have significantly decreased the number of abortions regionwide and bolstered life-affirming personal decisions.

Pregnancy
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Providing free, life-affirming support to women facing unexpected pregnancies, Real Alternatives offers confidential support in everything from temporary shelter to maternal health care. Real Alternatives also offers compassionate counseling that enables expectant mothers to overcome hurdles in informing their partners and family members, such as parents, of a new addition to the family.

Before women speak to their parents, it is important to confirm that a pregnancy has actually occurred. Real Alternatives offers a combination of health care provider references and free self-test kits for this purpose. Once a pregnancy is confirmed, mothers are advised to relax and collect their thoughts by visiting a favorite spot or taking a walk.

They may also want to speak with a trusted relative, counselor, or friend. If possible, they can use a journal to collect their thoughts, including ideas and options for their child’s future. This will not only bring a sense of order to a chaotic process, but also prepare them to bring up the subject with their parents.

Breaking the news is often accompanied by a sense of anger and hurt among parents, who may fear the ways in which their daughters’ lives will change. Mitigating this reaction should begin with a mature response from the mother that emphasizes that she is taking responsibility and actively working to ensure a healthy, happy future for her new baby.

Real Alternatives
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Based in Pennsylvania, the nonprofit organization Real Alternatives serves as a contracted government partner in providing life-affirming free counseling services to pregnant women who are contemplating an abortion. Real Alternatives’ staff offers empathetic, nonjudgmental, emotional support designed to empower women to make positive choices for themselves and their families.

The organization’s mission also includes facilitating access to a wide range of helpful information on parenting, child development, and life skills. By calling 1-888-Life-Aid, women worried about how they will feed, shelter, clothe, and care for their unborn children can obtain free assistance with these needs, as well as access to classes that will help them develop parenting skills.

Expectant and new mothers may feel intense concern about their ability to effectively parent a child, particularly when they themselves may have grown up in chaotic, neglectful, or abusive homes. A solid parenting skills class is set up to address these issues and offer guidance on everything ranging from how to build strong emotional bonds between parents and their children to how to deal with medical emergencies.

For generations, experts on family dynamics have pointed out that no one is born knowing how to be a good parent. Learning to be an effective and caring parent comes from many sources that include one’s own family history, personal life experiences, books and other educational materials, observation of role models, and trial and error.

With counseling, support, and education, women can learn how to confront their fears associated with parenting a child and learn to nurture happy, healthy families.

Surgical Abortions
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With a focus on providing women with comprehensive support when unplanned pregnancy occurs, Real Alternatives’ network of service providers affirms a woman’s decision to keep her baby. Abortion rates have dropped in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Indiana due in part to Real Alternatives’ programs. The Real Alternatives website at www.realalternatives.org offers a full range of educational resources, including details on the risks and possible complications associated with abortion at the various stages of pregnancy.

Surgical abortions undertaken during the first trimester center on a vacuum aspiration technique that begins with the mother lying on her back and bending the knees. The physician examines the uterus opening using a speculum, placing one hand in the vagina and one on the abdomen. A drug injection or spray is then used as a way of blocking any pain that may be experienced.

A long soft tube called a catheter is then inserted into the cervix, with the baby removed using suction similar to that of a vacuum cleaner. In cases where six weeks or more have passed since menstruation, the cervix is gently dilated so that a curette (a larger, more rigid tube) can be inserted and the fetus evacuated. Undertaking this procedure requires that the mother be fully informed on what will occur and provide signed intent that she wants to end the life of her unborn baby.v