By Lesley Keays
Herald Correspondent
When a woman learns she is expecting a child, mixed emotions may accompany the event, especially if her pregnancy is unplanned.
Often, the mother-to-be has concerns about finances, childcare, education, housing, and even food insufficiency. She may feel alone and ashamed. She may fear she has neither the strength nor the options to raise a child amid difficult life circumstances.
Andrea Krazeise, Founder and Executive Director of The Pregnancy Center in Sanford, understands intimately the challenges mothers-to-be face.
“Overseas, I was born to a young mother. My biological father was fully absent from my life,” Krazeise recalls. “The responsibility of raising me fell completely to my sole parent.”
Krazeise believes that the intervening act of two family friends changed her situation drastically for the better. “These women, working at a blanket factory, committed to helping my mother raise me. They never wavered.”
Krazeise’s goal in opening The Pregnancy Center in 1998 was to provide women with a safe, comfortable environment where they could discuss pregnancy options in a confidential setting at no cost.
When asked what types of women may benefit from The Pregnancy Center, Krazeise replies, “All kinds of women from different cultures and religions. They are women we see regularly in our daily lives. It could be a woman working the checkout lane at the grocery store. It could be a woman that looks like our own daughters.”
The Pregnancy Center offers free pregnancy and STI testing as well as prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal aid. A client with a confirmed pregnancy may undergo a sonogram in accordance with the gestational period (i.e., how far along she is in her pregnancy.)
The client receives judgement-free support from trained staff and volunteers. Moreover, the organization supplies struggling clients with diapers, maternity clothes, baby clothes, and other key essentials. Additionally, The Pregnancy Center offers education on valuable life skills. “We teach women how to establish credit, secure an apartment, prepare a resume, dress for a job interview, etc.,” notes Krazeise.
In 2020, The Pregnancy Center opened a second location in Winter Park. “We strive to provide women with a fresh start,” declares Krazeise. “It empowers them to make informed decisions going forward.”
For more information on The Pregnancy Center, access
