Support in difficult times

MOSES LAKE — An unplanned pregnancy can be a very scary thing. It brings big decisions to make, and no matter what course of action an expectant mother chooses, the outcome is life-changing. Crossroads Resource Center’s goal is to get her the information she needs to make those choices, its operators said, and then support her afterward. 

“We offer pregnancy testing and ultrasounds and (sexually transmitted infection) testing at no cost,” said Crossroads Executive Director Carol Knopp. “We give them information on all of their options that they might be considering. We offer the same options to everybody. Sometimes people come in here thinking they want to do one thing, but then when they leave and they tell their family, maybe things change.” 

Crossroads has two locations, one in Moses Lake and one in Ephrata. The Moses Lake clinic, across from Moses Lake High School, is bright and cheerful, with encouraging mottos on the walls. On display are brochures outlining the three options a pregnant woman faces: parenting, adoption or abortion. Crossroads helps facilitate the first two and offers post-abortion counseling for women who’ve chosen the third.  

In any event, it’s important to have information before making a decision, Knopp said. 

“STI testing is actually part of that process,” she said. “A lot of women, in our state especially, do the abortion pill. But the abortion pill isn't always effective, and sometimes, surgical abortion is still necessary. And if they are going to do a surgical abortion, it's really good if they know if they have an STI before they have that procedure.” 

For a woman who chooses to go the adoption route, Crossroads has two agencies it can connect her with, Knopp said. 

Information, she said, is a huge part of what Crossroads does. One of Crossroads’ nurses is in the process of becoming a certified instructor for Fertility Education and Medical Management, or FEMM, which is a program for tracking cycles and other aspects of women’s health, Knopp said. 

“If a woman comes and has a positive (pregnancy) test and she stays pregnant, there's nine months where reproductive decisions are not an issue,” Knopp said. “But for the women with a negative test … we’re trying to put together a little five-minute introduction to how your body works and how you can start making some good choices. And then we have more information available if (they’d) like to go a little deeper.” 

About 25% of the patients Crossroads sees are under 18 years of age, Knopp said. Crossroads’ services are confidential, according to its website, so underage patients have the choice of whether to involve their parents or not. 

The jewel in Crossroads’ crown is its ultrasound capability. Crossroads upgraded a couple of years ago to a Mindray DC-70 ultrasound machine that can show images in 2-D, 3-D or 5-D. That last sounds like a science fiction thing, but really it just means the baby can be seen moving in real time, Knopp explained. Like all its services, Crossroads offers ultrasound scans at no charge. 

“Sometimes people associate free with lower quality, but … we're not cutting corners here at Crossroads with what we're offering because it's limited and free,” said sonographer Cristie Bingham, who sees about five clients a week at Crossroads as well as her full-time job performing ultrasounds at Samaritan Healthcare. “It’s very top-caliber.” 

Crossroads doesn’t do ultrasounds all the way through the pregnancy; that’s for an expectant mother’s doctor, Bingham explained. But the ultrasound at Crossroads can confirm whether a woman is actually pregnant and whether the baby is viable. It also gives the mother a glimpse into the life that’s growing inside her, Bingham said. 

“We're using (the 5-D ultrasound) for the parents to be able to connect to their child and see their features,” she said. “It does add a different element. You don't use it at every age, but the times that I have been able to use it, it has been a huge connection. It's helping people to gather all the information and see it presented in a different way so that they're able to connect.” 

Seeing the baby living and moving also helps women make their decisions about how to proceed with the pregnancy, Knopp said. 

“It made a difference recently with a woman who really wanted to have an abortion,” Knopp said. “Babies … aren’t always at the right stage, but this day there was a good picture of the face (so we) turned on the 3-D and then the 5-D and you could see the baby’s little face moving. It was really impactful for the woman.” 

That mother decided to keep her baby and is now getting parenting support from Crossroads, Knopp said.  

Center Director Christy Youngers, who manages the center’s Primary Steps program for new mothers, said Crossroads provides a lot of support to mothers who proceed with their pregnancies and choose to parent. 

Primary Steps includes some online classes on the nuts and bolts of caring for a baby and also provides things like diapers and clothing for the baby. Women often feel pressured to have an abortion when they really don’t want to, Youngers said, and one of the reasons is a lack of financial resources. 

“We will pay for their diapers and wipes for a full year,” she said. “If they need maternity clothes, if they need a crib, pretty much anything that they need for the baby. Then at the end of the year, I'll review what's going on and see how they're sitting, and if they're still struggling, we'll extend it for another year.” 

Youngers is also a certified lactation consultant and helps new mothers with breastfeeding, she said. But a large part of her work at Crossroads is simply being there. 

“There have been times where I've been here for two hours with them,” she said. “They'll say, ‘Gosh, I go the doctor, and I was in there for 10 minutes, and they kicked me out. I feel like they didn't even listen to me.’ And you listen to what I say.” 

The Crossroads staff and volunteers do what they do because they take their work personally, Knopp said. 

“I had an unplanned pregnancy when I was in graduate school,” she said. “I had people encouraging me to have an abortion and I didn’t. It would have been so helpful if I had been able to go to a pregnancy center and have someone give me the kind of information that we give people here. It would have made things so much easier for me.” 

Crossroads Resource Center 

Moses Lake 

1555 Pilgrim St. 

509-765-4425 

Monday-Friday 11 a.m.-4 p.m. 

Ephrata 

29 Alder St. SW 

509-754-4357 

Monday and Wednesday 11 a.m.-4 p.m. 

https://pregnancywa.com 

Crossroads Resource Center services 

All services are confidential and at no charge 

Pregnancy testing 

Limited obstetrical ultrasound confirmation 

Information on pregnancy and abortion alternatives 

Physical, emotional and spiritual support 

Confidential consultation and guidance 

Referrals for medical care, housing, social services and legal aid 

Parenting classes 

Breastfeeding support 

Post-abortion healing group 

Postpartum depression support and screening 

Diapers and clothing for newborn to 24 months 

Adoption referrals 

Real Essentials - Sexual Risk Avoidance education 

Crossroads Resource Centers do not make referrals for abortions 

    Sonographer Cristie Bingham shows off the state-of-the-art ultrasound machine at Crossroads Resource Center.
  

    Crossroads Resource Center offers material support for new parents, including diapers, baby clothing, cribs and car seats.