Walking with Families as a Parent Care Coordinator – Heidi Martin

Heidi Martin joins Nafisa Kennedy to speak about her role as a Parent Care Coordinator for PrenatalDiagnosis.org. Heidi comes from a background as a NICU nurse and now works in ministry to serve families with babies facing a life-limiting prenatal diagnosis. She explains the training process that she took through Be Not Afraid, including a unique focus on trauma-informed care, and how Parent Care Coordinators are able to operate in a missional way — adding a vital spiritual component and allowing the Lord to lead interactions with parents during a difficult situation.

Interested in becoming a Parent Care Coordinator? Contact Be Not Afraid here or click here to find out more about the training process.

For more on PrenatalDiagnosis.org, check out our previous podcast episodes:

Additional Resources:

Sponsored by: Option Line

If you are a Pregnancy Help Organization and are interested in having Option Line answer your after-hours calls, email info@optionline.org

Heartbeat International provides a forum to express a marketplace of ideas for an audience of life-affirming pregnancy help organizations and those who support such organizations.  The ideas, views and opinions expressed in this presentation are those of the presenter and may or may not reflect advice, opinions, policies or views of Heartbeat International, Inc. Presenters come from a wide range of experiences and backgrounds, inside and outside of the Pregnancy Help Movement.  We encourage listeners or viewers to do their own additional research and discern for themselves how to apply the materials presented.

Supporting Parents Facing a Prenatal Diagnosis – Shelley Hauter

In this episode, we highlight one of the features of the website, PrenatalDiagnosis.org, which allows site visitors to connect with a Parent Care Coordinator (PCC). PCCs provide a free service of practical guidance, information, and referrals to parents facing a prenatal diagnosis for their unborn child, continuing a year after the child’s birth.

One Parent Care Coordinator, Shelley Hauter, comes from a background in both nursing and pregnancy center leadership, and now ministers to families through PrenatalDiagnosis.org. Shelley shares stories of what it is like to walk this journey alongside parents, and how this ministry is an essential part of the pregnancy help movement.

Interested in becoming a Parent Care Coordinator? Contact Be Not Afraid here or click here to find out more about the training process.

For more on PrenatalDiagnosis.org, check out two of our previous podcast episodes:

Sponsored by: Option Line

If you are a Pregnancy Help Organization and are interested in having Option Line answer your after-hours calls, email info@optionline.org

Heartbeat International provides a forum to express a marketplace of ideas for an audience of life-affirming pregnancy help organizations and those who support such organizations.  The ideas, views and opinions expressed in this presentation are those of the presenter and may or may not reflect advice, opinions, policies or views of Heartbeat International, Inc. Presenters come from a wide range of experiences and backgrounds, inside and outside of the Pregnancy Help Movement.  We encourage listeners or viewers to do their own additional research and discern for themselves how to apply the materials presented.

Prenatal Diagnosis Part 2 – Resources

Nafisa Kennedy, Director of Option Line, interviews Dr. Tara Sander Lee and Chaney Mullins Gooley about the resources that are available to parents who have received news of a prenatal diagnosis. Using the new website, PrenatalDiagnosis.org, families can access informative resources as well as chat with a consultant about their options. This website and the resources listed equip pregnancy help organizations, churches, and individuals with the tools they need to be ready to serve a family facing a prenatal diagnosis.

 

Notes:

  • A prenatal diagnosis can mean that parents who would not otherwise consider abortion may now be abortion vulnerable; often the pregnancy was planned and the family was excited to welcome a new member to their family.
  • Advances in diagnostic tools have allowed for more birth defects or fetal anomalies to be detected before birth. While this can be a helpful way for an unborn child to be treated before birth for medical conditions, false positive test results or a lack of understanding of the results can lead to the pressure to abort.
  • Perinatal bereavement care is available to parents, and is often chosen instead of abortion when given as option. This can be a very healing experience for the whole family.
  • Parent Care Coordinators help parents through the different services that the family might need including communications with the hospital, surgeons, arranging childcare for other children, travel, etc.
  • Adoptive parents are ready to care for children with medical conditions; this is an option that is not often presented to parents who may not be ready or able to care for a child who is diagnosed before birth with a medical condition.
  • PrenatalDiagnosis.org offers a comprehensive list of resources up to delivery and beyond. Topics include diagnosis, effects on the family, support groups, pregnancy loss healing, and site visitors can connect to a live chat so that help is available 24/7.

Sponsored by Option Line

Heartbeat International provides a forum to express a marketplace of ideas for an audience of life-affirming pregnancy help organizations and those who support such organizations.  The ideas, views and opinions expressed in this presentation are those of the presenter and may or may not reflect advice, opinions, policies or views of Heartbeat International, Inc. Presenters come from a wide range of experiences and backgrounds, inside and outside of the Pregnancy Help Movement.  We encourage listeners or viewers to do their own additional research and discern for themselves how to apply the materials presented.

Prenatal Diagnosis Part 1 – Informed Consent

Petra Wallenmeyer guides this discussion with Gary Thome, Heartbeat International Board Member and DiAnn Ecret, PhD, Healthcare Ethics, to shed light on the lack of informed consent given to parents facing a prenatal diagnosis. A prenatal diagnosis can mean that parents who were not previously considering abortion are now abortion-vunerable due to the way that information is presented to them by healthcare providers. Oftentimes, the difference in a screening test vs a diagnostic test is not clarified, and abortion is strongly suggested as opposed to alternatives such as carrying to term and exploring treatment options. Pregnancy help organizations can equip themselves to be ready to serve parents with resources to support them during a difficult time.

Resources:

Sponsored by: Option Line

Heartbeat International provides a forum to express a marketplace of ideas for an audience of life-affirming pregnancy help organizations and those who support such organizations.  The ideas, views and opinions expressed in this presentation are those of the presenter and may or may not reflect advice, opinions, policies or views of Heartbeat International, Inc. Presenters come from a wide range of experiences and backgrounds, inside and outside of the Pregnancy Help Movement.  We encourage listeners or viewers to do their own additional research and discern for themselves how to apply the materials presented.