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The Pregnancy Help Center celebrates 30 years of pre-natal support
YOUNGSTOWN
The Pregnancy Help Center in Youngstown celebrated 30 years of providing pre-natal health services to women.
The Pregnancy Help Center is at 4845 Market St. in Youngstown.
To mark the occasion, the center opened its doors Sunday to the public for an open house. A representative from U.S. Rep Bill Johnson’s office attended the event to present a proclamation of congratulations to the organization.
“The organization and staff the Pregnancy Help Center are truly inspiring. I’ve previously met with Sally Dubinsky and her team, as well as many of the dedicated volunteers there who provide all of their services and resources at no cost to anyone – women or men – of the Mahoning Valley,” Johnson of Marietta, R-6th, said in a statement.
The nonprofit medical center – which includes four licensed medical staff, including a BSN nurse and 32 volunteers – provides women with health care and pregnancy support services, as well as help and counseling for parents and their children up through their third birthday.
Though staff at the center explain every pregnancy option to their patients – including adoption and abortion – the center takes a staunch anti-abortion stance.
The center’s executive director, Dubinsky, said while the center has a moral stance against abortion, the staff at the clinic offer only love and support to the women who seek out their service.
“We aren’t here to judge, and if you look at our feedback, you’ll see that our patients always leave here feeling loved,” Dubinsky said. “Many of our staff and volunteers have been through similar situations – crisis pregnancies, abortions, adoptions – or their friends or family have, so we want women to know when they’re here, they’re loved. We understand what they’re going through.”
In addition to providing pregnancy testing and fetal ultrasound services, the center also offers pregnancy and parenting classes, sewing classes and a discussion and support group for new fathers.
Pregnancy Help Center also has an “earn while you learn” rewards program, where women can earn “points” by using services at the center. The points can be redeemed at the center’s 2,000-square-foot “baby boutique,” where expecting mothers can purchase diapers and other baby supplies, including cribs. The center also awards points for certain extra-center activities, such as pursuing an education, working a job or seeking out professional counseling services.
“Everything here is free, but we didn’t want to just give handouts,” Dubinsky said. “We had a lot of success with the ‘earn while you learn’ concept because the women take pride in the feeling of having earned the items they receive from the baby boutique.”