by Brooke Myrick BSN, RN, LAS

What a year it has already been for pregnancy help! For a work that had become familiar with years of experience for some, unfamiliarity and uncertainty have been reintroduced to us all. Since the handing down of the Dobbs decision, it seems regulations and state laws are at the forefront of many discussions. At the same time, women have access to abortion wherever they are, whenever they choose to start the abortion process. This access that we are seeing today, by crossing state lines or by simply placing an online order, has led many women to begin an abortion without having a necessary medical evaluation prior to their abortion decision. This leaves many women without the medical information that is needed to make the most informed decision. Given these day-to-day circumstances, how do nurses in pregnancy help organizations continue to best serve the women and families in our communities?

We will continue to serve as nurses in our communities with endurance, character, and hope. We continue to strive towards reaching and rescuing as many lives as possible and renewing our communities for life. We will keep serving and praying.

Through Him, we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.  Romans 5: 2-3

As nurses, we will continue to meet her where she is by adjusting our hours to offer appointments later in the week and later in the afternoon and evenings to be available when she is most likely to make an abortion decision. We will welcome her through confidential communication platforms and in-person visits to listen and learn from her. We will offer her open options. We will instill in her a vision for her life and proclaim her value and worth. We will extend love, care, and support to her while empowering her. She will know that she is seen, loved, and cared for.

In John 13:35 we read, by this all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.

This Nurses Week, with an abundance of gratitude, we thank you for what you do as nurses in your pregnancy help organization every single day. We recognize the sacrifices you make and the hours you give. You have faith, endurance, and work hard. Your work is making a difference each and every day, one life at a time. By your love, women and families in your communities are empowered to make a life decision today and for their eternity. 

We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ….  1 Thessalonians 1: 2-3

by Brooke Myrick BSN, RN, LAS

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

John 15:9-11 ESV

As Nurses within the pregnancy help setting, often we are blessed with experiences that fill us with abundant happiness and thankfulness. In comparison, we can also find ourselves experiencing feelings of utter sadness that can bring us to our knees.  The service offered to women and families within the pregnancy help role is a unique service, unimaginable and unrelatable to many, unless they are also united in the same service. Many times, the nursing care offered is concerning a life-or-death decision. As love, care and support are shared, to reach and rescue as many lives as possible, there are times when the woman’s decisions may not be as we had earnestly prayed and hoped. In addition, the conversations had, and relationships built, each distinctly demands an immense amount of physical, emotional, and spiritual support from the nurse. Appointment after appointment, nurses proceed to offer all we can, with all that we have, as we pray for God to guide our words and actions, in efforts to save lives today and for eternity future.

Despite circumstances, how can your joy be made full and complete?

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory…

1 Peter 1:8

The joy described in 1 Peter is an inexpressible joy. A joy unable to be given an explanation. This joy is independent of circumstantial surroundings, adversity, and attacks. It is a constant joy independent of the current life challenges. This joy is a byproduct of the love given us by remaining in Him, as referenced in John 15.

In Hebrews 12:2 we read that Jesus endured the cross, for the joy set before him, to become our Savior and sit at the right hand of God. He can identify with our struggles. With every act of service offered and with every sacrifice made, may you also be filled with joy.

With the utmost gratitude, we thank you for your endless hours of acts of service to those entering your pregnancy help center doors. Thank you for your continued prayers for the families you serve and their situations long after their care at your center is complete. You care. You care deeply for those you serve, and this is worthy of commending and admirable.

Your service does not go unnoticed and is making a difference, one life at a time, every single day.

This Nurses Week we are praying you remain in the love of our Father, that his joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

JOIN US FOR OUR FIRST ULTRASOUND TRAINING OF 2025!

February 4-6, 2025  |  Orlando, FL

 Registration ends January 4, 2025, at midnight!

"This fits exactly how I want to practice medicine.
It’s evidence-based and rigorous.
It has integrity and Incorporates God.
Medicine is fast just like this week.
This is how medicine should be practiced."

- LAUC Attendee, July 2024

While there are various ultrasound trainings available for nurses and sonographers who work within the pregnancy help movement, Heartbeat International has championed a new form of training that connects the technical needs and the spiritual needs for those working in pregnancy help. The training is held in two parts: First, students complete an online ultrasound training* through Heartbeat International’s Academy which meets the Association of Women's Health Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) guidelines for didactic training, as well as completing 25 OB prerequisite scans** to prepare for the in-person training. Next, students come on-site to participate in an in-person scan lab experience with one-on-one instruction from educators who are also sonographers credentialed in RDMS (OB/GYN) and RNs who have multiple years of experience imaging in Pregnancy Help Clinics.

By combining the technical, practical, and spiritual elements into one pregnancy help medical training, trainees will work towards becoming equipped, qualified, and ready to scan within their center. (Looking for training for other Pregnancy Help staff? Click here!)

This Clinical will include:

• 50+ Scanning Drills
• Pregnant models of all gestations
• Unique L.O.V.E. Approach Method of imaging the preborn babies
• Competency scanning pathology typically encountered in Limited Obstetric Diagnostic Ultrasound
• First simulation training offered nationally in the Pregnancy Help movement-
  • Transvaginal instruction on simulation models
  • Mastering of skills by scanning a simulated ectopic pregnancy
• Image Reviews
• Spiritually focused instructional approach
• Case Studies
• How to introduce a mom to her baby for the very first time
• Skills Evaluations for those completing training
• Supportive team to reinforce your calling

*Heartbeat International will offer 20 Continuing Education Contact Hours for nurses for the didactic portion of training and 12 Continuing Education Contact Hours for nurses for the clinical portion of training. Heartbeat International is an approved provider through the California Board of Nursing, Provider Number 16061.

The focus of the clinical event is on repetition and volume, along with spiritual encouragement and reinforcement of techniques and knowledge gained from the didactic training. The ideal participant is someone who is self-motivated, and confident and needs a high volume of scans for training. This event is fast-paced and filled with drills, techniques and one-on-one instruction from educators who are also sonographers credentialed in RDMS (OB/GYN) and RNs who have multiple years of experience imaging in Pregnancy Help Clinics. Each participant receives a skill evaluation by our instructors, however, Heartbeat International does not certify nor credential any medical professional. The final determination of when a nurse can scan in a clinic is made by individual Medical Directors.

NEW! Take a look inside The L.O.V.E. Approach Clinical by listening to Lisa Bourne and Christa Brown discuss how The L.O.V.E. Approach can be effectively used in the ultrasound setting, and how attending the Clinical not only gives you technical experience but also teaches students to deal with the spiritual warfare that we see on the pro-life battlefield. Click here to listen now!

Pricing

The L.O.V.E. Approach Ultrasound Clinical includes 20 hours of didactic training (20 CEUs) and 24 hours of clinical training (12 CEUs). 

*Early Bird ends December 23, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. ET

*Completion of Heartbeat's Online Ultrasound Didactic Training is a prerequisite to The L.O.V.E. Approach Ultrasound Clinical and is included in the cost of the training.

**Nurses attending The L.O.V.E. Approach Ultrasound Clinical have found many ways to obtain the prerequisite of 25 OB scans. Here are a few ways to fulfill this requirement.

• Scan with another clinic. Here is a locator to find nearby pregnancy help organizations. 
• Offer a scanning day to scan clients who have been scanned previously with a sonographer or a trained nurse. 
• Scan some women who are not pregnant (such as coworkers or friends) to image female anatomy and to become acquainted with the function of an ultrasound system.
• Contact a local OB office for possible assistance with training scans. 

Can't make it to Orlando?

Save the dates for our next training events:

Registration for LAUC in Birmingham is now open! Click here to register early!

by Jennifer Minor, Editor/Writer
Heartbeat International

I’m one of those blessed adults who had the joy of growing up with a nurse for a mother. There are several ways this affected me as a child. I used to go to work with her sometimes where she trained nursing assistants and my brother and I would practice skills on the mannequins. I don’t remember a time I didn’t know the basics of CPR. As a seven-year-old, I once told the school nurse I was feeling “rather lethargic.” She sent me back to class and called my mom to share the story.

All my best advice comes from my mom. “If you can fix it, fix it. If you can’t fix it, don’t worry about it.” There’s plenty more advice I’ve taken and given from her, but even though she said this when I was freaking out about a 5th grade reading assignment, I think about it every day.

Over the years, there have been a lot of hospital visits with my family, usually my grandparents. Unsurprisingly, we’ve depended on my mom a lot in those times. Her experience as a nurse and in training nursing assistants to provide care made it only natural that she would take point and help us understand what was happening.

The funny thing was, she didn’t want the medical staff at the hospital to know she was a nurse most times. I imagine most nurses understand why. If the surgeon working on your mom’s back finds out you’re a nurse, he’ll speak directly to you assuming you can explain anything your mom really wants to know later. Conversations about care quickly become insider conversations, leaving the rest of the family in the dark or getting the information later from the nurse in the family, who has to now take the time and effort to translate what she learned.

Partly though, I think she was less worried about being a go-between than about us learning to interact with medical professionals well. I know today if I see a doctor, I ask a lot of questions, and may drive them a little crazy, but I know what’s going on with me medically so I can make informed decisions about my care. I guess that’s one way she was being a great mom in the midst of things.

Somehow though, she always gets outed eventually. Sometimes, a former student of hers comes and says, “Mrs. Minor! Do you remember me?” Other times, she asks a question with just a little too much insider vocabulary. Then there’s my favorite time. She was leaning on my grandpa’s bed. I don’t even remember what procedure he’d had or anything, but an alarm was going off sometimes and we weren’t exactly sure why. Honestly, we weren’t that worried about it because a nurse or nursing assistant would come in and turn it off and leave. Finally, one of the nurses said to my mom, “You know, you’re making that alarm go off when you lean on the bed.”

She reacted like most people would, jumping back from the bed and apologizing, but she made one addition that gave her away. “Oh! It’s a falls risk bed.”

BUSTED.

From then on, at least on that shift, everyone knew she was a nurse.

While the technical stuff can make it easy to identify a nurse, even if she was hardcore undercover and managed not to out herself, being around a hospital floor or medical team for long enough, they always figured it out eventually. Her patient (pun intended) care for any family member in the hospital shows it every time. My mom is identified as a nurse – and a mom – because of her compassion, her expertise, and the trust she inspires.

Yes, I know, I got those words from this year’s theme for National Nurses Week, but it’s true. And I find that compassion, expertise, and trust are words that apply to mothers as well. The best mothers pour out compassion constantly, are experts on their kids (and many other things), and inspire trust. My mother certainly has my trust (and, if I may speak for him for a moment, my brother’s as well).

So this year especially, when Mother’s Day lands right in the middle of National Nurses Week, I want to say a special thank you to my mom.

Mom, thank you for everything. You continue to be a role model for me every day. I hope your Mother’s Day, and your National Nurses Week are joyful and blessed.

And a special thank you to all mothers and nurses out there. Happy Mother's Day and Happy Nurses Week!

Nurses Make a Difference: Anytime, Anywhere – Always

Join Heartbeat International in celebrating National Nurses Week May 6-12. We rejoice for each of you who lead the charge in medical care in each of our affiliate centers!

We certainly have plenty of reasons to celebrate the amazing nurses in pregnancy help organizations who serve with compassion and expertise, inspiring client and patient trust. Every day we are confronted with life and death. Yet babies are saved because of the compassion, expertise, and prayer we offer our clients. We inspire clients with the confidence and hope they need to carry their babies to term. We innovate new ideas and methods to best help them. And we empower our clients as they make healthy decisions for their relationships and pregnancies and then eventually in their strong parenting choices. It's these things that lead to amazing little everyday miracles, like precious healthy babies being born into the loving arms of their healthy mothers, sometimes even after an abortion has been stopped in its tracks.

I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak…Ezekiel 34:16

We hope you know, we are always praying for you, and if you have any specific prayer requests or praise reports, feel free to share them any time by clicking the button below!

Sometimes It Can Be Challenging

Anyone who has labored in a ministry for any length of time knows that there can be struggles. Our work can be an odd endeavor. Sometimes our efforts do not produce immediate and “concrete” results that show our work was beneficial and effectual. Sometimes our clients take three steps forward, only to then take five steps back. As we try to wait with positive expectation, sometimes disappointment can creep in.

Don’t Forget Your Calling

It is critical to lean on the Lord because this is His work and His battle. Paul was an apostle, not because of his brilliance, compassion, personal skills, or preaching ability. He was an apostle because he was called. And so were you! The calling is not what we do, it’s who we are. It goes with us everywhere. Our calling is simply to be fruitful in what He has called us to. He does the rest. And His call to a ministry is an invitation to unequaled privilege. We work in the midst of miracles every single day!

For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. Hebrews 6:10

He Moves Mountains

God loves the women and babies we serve with such a deep, unending love, He moves mountains for them. And that is a truth we can rest in. As we strive to do all He has called us to do, always remember, He will do more. He wants the best for each life He creates. And He fully knows all you have done and all you have carried.

Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded. 2 Chronicles 15-7

We Appreciate You!

Each of us at Heartbeat International pray for you and are inspired by you. We appreciate your good works and your willingness to do God’s will each day. Thank you for being on the frontlines of care and for putting clients first no matter how grueling your day. We appreciate your kindness, dedication and healing touch. Today we honor each of you who are quite literally changing the world one heartbeat at a time.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead

There are two little words you may not hear every day. But to each of you, we proclaim a resounding, “Thank you!”

by Jaimy Craemer-Adjei, LPN, Heartbeat Medical Specialist

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

What does it mean to bear one another’s burdens?

In the Pregnancy Center it can be a daily unconscious ritual to bear another’s burden, and in the attitude of Christ, it is part of our calling. In that “routine” moment when a woman pours her heart out to you behind closed doors, you are bearing the burdens of Christ. You are following the commands of Christ as you offer a listening ear and kind words. You may be the only friendly face this woman sees in her life right now, even though you are a stranger.

But isn’t that part of who we are? Strangers in this world – with a higher calling?

And what exactly is the law of Christ that we are to fulfill? In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that the two greatest commandments are, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength…”  and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:30-31). As we put Christ first in our lives and love Him with everything we have, we can then turn and love our neighbors – our clients – the women coming to us with one of the biggest burdens in their lives – an unexpected pregnancy. But here she is, in your consulting room, and you are the one taking on her burdens in that crucial moment of her life.

As nurses we take on so many things. Our families, our profession, our education, our church – and life can get overwhelming. Jesus says in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”  The problems in not just our lives, but the problems in the life of the pregnant, devastated woman sitting across from us, can be overwhelming at times.

But it is not our responsibility to bear these burdens forever.

We are told to come to Jesus with our burdens, and He will give us rest. It’s that simple. Give it to Jesus. The devastated woman who feels she simply cannot handle one more crisis… the unborn baby whose life hangs in the balance… everything that weighs us down at the end of the day… give it to Jesus.

Jeremiah 31:25 says, “For I have given rest to the weary, and joy to the sorrowing.”  He has given us rest and joy. Thank you Jesus for rest and joy! As we turn over the heavy loads we carry day in and day out, we will be able to rest in Him and have joy in our lives. What a privilege our Father in Heaven has given us to allow us to turn our sorrows and burdens over to Him.

As we play this unique role in life, as we touch the lives of so many, we have to be reminded to give it all to Jesus – it's all in His hands anyway. As you see your clients in distressing situations, remember to pray, and turn her problems (on your shoulders) over to Christ, and He will give you the rest you so desperately need.

God bless each and every Nurse doing the work of Christ, bearing the burdens of others, and making a difference in the born and unborn souls of this world. Happy Nurse’s Week!!!

by Jill Evans, Guest Writer

I’ll be honest. I can’t imagine facing a life and death battle in my everyday life. My days consist of diapers, sibling squabbles, meal preparation, and drinking coffee. God made me to be a mom, among other things. That is where my standing in life has brought me and where I know He wants me to invest my love and care. So different from a nursing medical career.

Isn’t that the beauty of life though? God placed such intricate passions within to stir and lead us. It is our passion which grounds us inside – knowing we are devoted and following this map through life which God has laid out in our desires.

In World War I, a young nurse name Alice Ross-King was stationed near the trenches in Armentieres, France. She was 28 and had only been at the hospital for five days. During a night in late July, the Germans began dropping bombs, five of which landed on the hospital. The first bomb dropped through the ceiling in front of her and threw her to the ground. Reports say that she was stunned for a few moments but once she had regained her bearings, she ran to assist those around her.

Now, if a bomb drops in front of me you’ll probably find me crying in a corner wishing I was safe under the covers of my childhood bed. But Alice ran toward the fight! She was later awarded a medal for her “great coolness and devotion to duty”. Being levelheaded and devoted – what a beautiful way to live. Is that not what nurses do every day? Run into the fray and fight to save lives – of babies, but also of scared mothers and fathers?

But, I can hear many saying that this was an extraordinary situation, fueled primarily by adrenaline. And it’s true. Alice Ross-King experienced a horrifying circumstance that the overwhelming majority would never find themselves in. The amazing reality is that nurses working in Pregnancy Help Medical Clinics are daily racing toward this fight, devoted, levelheaded, passionate.

Nehemiah 6:9b reads “Now strengthen my hands.” Four words but what powerful ones they are. Let that be your cry as you run toward the fight and it is our prayer for you!

Even though at times you might feel drained and as worn as the dishrag on my sink, every client who crosses the threshold of your center still needs you. They need you to run to them and to show God’s love in what might be the simplest yet most taxing way – to care for them, and this is why we take this week to express our utmost gratitude and appreciation for each and every one of you. You are AMAZING! We Celebrate You! Thank you for running to the aid of those who need you. You are strong and capable through the power of God. You are doing extraordinary work. May the Lord always strengthen your hands.

Jill Evans is the daughter of Heartbeat Medical Specialist, Susan Dammann, RN, LAS and a joyful mother.