Four ways you can support pregnant moms and babies this Christmas

OPINION:

What’s the best gift you can give struggling moms and babies this Christmas?

If you look at an Advent wreath, you’ll have the beginnings of an answer. The wreath contains four candles – one for each week of Advent – representing hope, peace, joy and love.

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For a pregnant or parenting mom in difficult circumstances, experiencing the peace and joy of a supportive community can make all the difference in her journey of motherhood. For a woman searching for healing after abortion, experiencing the hope and love of Christ through her church community can help her find healing.

Nearly 70% of women with a history of abortion describe their abortions as inconsistent with their own values and preferences, with one in four women describing their abortions as unwanted or coerced. And did you know that 60% of women said they would’ve chosen to give birth if they had received more emotional support or had more financial security?

The data is clear: Women don’t want abortions. Women want to have and love their children. Sometimes, like all of us, they may just need some help along the way.

While the abortion industry profits from pushing abortions on women, pro-life Americans stand ready to offer women real hope and life-affirming support. What better time than Christmas, the celebration of Christ’s birth as a tiny baby in a Bethlehem stable when there was no room at the inn, for each of us to step up and help mothers and children most in need.

Here are four ways you can do just that:

1. Give moms the joy of buying Christmas gifts for their children

Many single moms struggling to make ends meet would give anything to have enough money to buy their children Christmas gifts. The chance to wait in a long checkout line to buy something special for their child would be a gift in itself. This year, you can make her wish a reality.

Find your local pregnancy center on Her PLAN’s Directory and send the center gift cards to local stores that they can give to their clients. By making it possible for a struggling mom to buy gifts for her children, you’re giving her a gift too.

2. Donate to your local pregnancy center

A staggering 83% of Americans support pregnancy centers and the lifesaving resources they offer moms and babies. Make that support tangible this Advent by donating to a pregnancy center in your community or by purchasing diapers, baby clothes, or other needed items on their wish list.

Pregnancy centers uphold the inherent dignity of unborn children and their mothers, empowering them with hope and help. Supporting their work is a beautiful way to prepare for Christmas.

3. Pray for pregnancy centers and those they serve

Despite their faithful service to women and families, providing free services estimated at a total value of $360 million, pregnancy centers are under attack. More than 90 pregnancy centers and life-affirming organizations have been attacked or vandalized since the Dobbs Supreme Court leak in 2022.

Pregnancy centers empower women with real options, material support, and numerous free services such as ultrasounds, parenting classes, baby supplies and more. Uplifting these centers and their staff through prayer is a critical way to support their work and the clients they serve.

4. Share stories of hope

As we prepare to celebrate the most hopeful story of all this Christmas, there’s no better time to share – on social media or with your church or community group – firsthand accounts of how pregnancy centers, maternity homes, and other life-affirming organizations have empowered women and their babies to thrive.

Stories of hope can help pregnant and parenting women in challenging circumstances know they are not alone. Although the road ahead is often difficult, others have had similar experiences to their own and found support.

It may seem small, but that story could connect a vulnerable mother and her unborn child with a local maternity home to receive critically needed shelter during the cold winter months. That story could reach a struggling mom who desperately needs to hear that no matter her circumstances, the pro-life movement stands ready to help her too.

The recently published Her Story webpage features many such stories of women who have courageously chosen life and received help from a robust community of life-affirming providers. If the mainstream media reported on these beautiful stories – rather than misrepresenting the nearly 3,000 pregnancy centers and maternity homes nationwide that make them possible – how many more women would know they have real options and hope?

No matter how you choose to step up and help this Advent, it’s critical that you do. Moms, babies, and the life-affirming providers who serve them are counting on you.

The best gift you can give them this Christmas is to say yes.

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Anna Stephens is Communications Manager for Her PLAN.