Convenient Handbook of Fargo/Moorhead area:

Pregnancy
Assistance
Locations

Created By:
Tom Houle
Linnea Meyer
Kayla Lechelt

Table Of Contents:
Our Mission . 3
Organizations:
Pregnancy Help Centers...4
Pregnancy Support Services.5
Pregnancy Health Care Providers6
Adoption Services.8
Education...........................................9
Post-Abortive Care..10
Other...11

Our Mission
We wanted to provide women and families with detailed information about the amazing
organizations in the Fargo-Moorhead area that offer all kinds of different options to mothers
and parents. The organizations are similar, but so very different. Some cater to pregnant
woman; provide parenting education, STD testing, varying forms of counseling and adoption
assistance.

ORGANIZATIONS
Pregnancy Help Centers

themselves with an unexpected

pregnancy. Birthright has spent the last
45 years remaining faithful to Louise's
vision and expanding its services
nationwide.

First Choice Clinic

Mission
o

First Choice Clinic is a nonprofit faith

based clinic providing education an
health services to empower individuals
to make informed, life-affirming
choices

History
o

First Choice Clinic was established in

1984 with the mission to offer faith
based, medically based pregnancy help.
Through the years it has expanded its
serves to provide pregnancy help
services to clients all over North Dakota
and Northwestern Minnesota. They
have three sites one in each of the
following cities: Fargo, Bismarck, and
Devils Lake.

Services
o
o
o
o

Contact Information
o
o

o
o

Free Pregnancy testing

Free Limited OB ultrasound
Free Pregnancy options information
Free STD testing and treatment
Free post abortion recovery resources/
referrals
Free Parenting Education
Free Fertility Care Education

Mission
o

www.firstchoiceclinic.com
701- 237-5902

Birthright of Fargo-Moorhead
Mission
o

It is the right of every pregnant woman

to give birth.. and the right of every
child to be born

Birthright Fargo-Moorhead is part of a

larger organization Birthright
International. Birthright was founded
in 1968 by Louise Summerhill, in a
one-room office and had only a little
money in the bank. Louise began
birthright, based on her own personal
life experiences that opened her heart
to helping girls who have found

The Perry Center was founded after the

deaths of Dr. David and Judy Perry. Dr.
Perry and his wife opened their home
to women with an unexpected
pregnancy. Darold and Patricia Larson
founded a maternity home in their
name. The Perry Center opened in
1986 and is the only private Christian
maternity home in North Dakota.

Services
o
o
o

History
o

The purpose of the Perry Center is to

minister the love of Jesus Christ to
single women experiencing an
unplanned pregnancy by providing for
their physical, emotional and spiritual
needs in a residential setting.

History

Contact Information
o
o

http://birthrightfm.org/
(218) 477-1977

The Perry Center

Services
o
o
o
o
o

Free Pregnancy Tests

Free maternity and baby clothes
Prenatal and Pregnancy information
Assistance in finding financial help,
community resources and adoption
resources

Residential housing for pregnant

women between the ages of 12-23
Counseling
Parenting and Pregnancy Classes
Labor and Delivery
Caring for your Newborn
Nutrition
Adoption vs. Keeping
Serves are provided through private
donations from the support of the
community

Contact Information
o
o

www.perrycenter.org
(701)241-9289
4

Pregnancy Support Services

The Village Family Service Center

Doulas of the Read River Valley

Mission
o

Mission
o

The mission of The Village Family

Service Center is to improve the quality
of life through services designed to
strengthen individuals, families and
organizations

History
o

History
o

The Village was founded as the North

Dakota Childrens Home Society in
1891, a home for orphaned children.
For decades it provided a sanctuary for
those who needed it. Since then The
Village has been constantly adapting
their services o meet the needs of
modern life.

o
o

Provides information on parenting

Offers assistance to community
resources, costs and plan for parenting
Information and resources on adoption
Post adoption search and disclosure
services

Contact Information
o

https://www.thevillagefamily.org/ado
ption/pregnancycounseling

A doula is a woman who provides

critical support before, during and after
childbirth. Her job focuses entirely on
the non-clinical side of things.

Services
o
o

Services
o
o

Providing professional birth and

postpartum doula services to women
and families in and around the F/M
area

Options to hire birth and/or

postpartum doulas
Fargo-Moorhead Doulas include:
Jill Christianson
Jemima Heppner
Brandi Spray
Brittany Pickard

Katie Murrey

Crystal Wolf
Labor care
Comfort measures- breathing,
relaxation, massage
Education on labor options
Postpartum
Assist new mother and family
first few weeks after childbirth
Newborn care information and
feeding

Contact Information
o

http://doulasrrv.org/

Pregnancy Health Care

Providers
Essentia Health- Fargo/Moorhead

Family Health Care Medical Services

Mission
o

Mission
o

We are called to make a healthy

difference in peoples lives.

History
o

Essentia Health is an integrated health

system-serving patients in Minnesota,
North Dakota, Wisconsin and Idaho. In
the summer of 2010, Essentia Health
brought together the operations of
SMDC Health System, Brainerd Lakes
Health, Innovis Health, Essentia
Community Hospitals and Clinics, and
the Essentia Institute of Rural Health.
Essentia Health was originally formed
in January 2004 through a partnership
of the Benedictine Health System and
SMDC Health System. In January 2008,
Innovis Health joined Essentia Health
and all of the hospitals and clinics
owned by the Benedictine Health
System were transferred to Essentia
Community Hospitals and Clinics.

Services
o
o
o

Specialized Doctors
Pregnancy Classes
NICU

Contact Information
o
o
o

(701)364-8000
http://www.essentiahealth.org/Fargo/
Birthing-Center.aspx
http://www.essentiahealth.org/Moorh
eadClinic/Find-a-Clinic/EssentiaHealthMoorhead-Clinic-104.aspx

Our mission is to provide exceptional

healthcare that is affordable,
compassionate, dignified, and
respectful of all people. Family
HealthCare is a comprehensive,
primary care clinic that provides
excellent medical and dental care to
anyone and everyone who needs it,
regardless of age, nationality, or ability
to pay.

History
o In late 2009, our community came
together in a beautiful way to begin
preparing for a new, convenient
location that allowed us to be more
accessible to those who need us
most. Our main operation is now
housed in the historic Pence
Automobile building and three
adjoining buildings in downtown
Fargo.

Services
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o

Dental Services
Vision Services
Homeless Health
Womens Health
New American Health
Wellness and Lifestyle Medicine
Interpreter Services
Pharmacy
X-ray and Lab
Marketplace and Insurance
Enrollment Services

Contact Information
o www.famhealthcare.org
o http://famhealthcarefargo.org/miss
ion-2/your-medical-home-atfamily-healthcare/

Cass County Public Health

clinics in Ghana and Mexico.

Sanford Health includes 43
hospitals, 225 clinic locations and
1,360 physicians in 81 specialty
areas of medicine. The system is
experiencing dynamic growth and
development in conjunction with
nearly a billion dollars in gifts from
philanthropist Denny Sanford.
These gifts are making possible the
implementation of the several
initiatives including global
children's clinics, multiple research
centers and finding a cure for type 1
diabetes and breast cancer.

Mission
o To provide leadership and
partnership in the development and
implementation of practices that are
designed to recruit and retain a
highly qualified, engaged workforce
for the City of Fargo.

History
o Cass County Public Health is an
organization that was produced and
implemented years after the
establishment of Fargo. Fargo was
founded back in 1871, when the
settlers first staked homestead
where the Northern Pacific Railroad
would cross the Red River. In 1893,
the growing city experienced a fire
that destroyed most of the
downtown, but the city resolved to
rebuild itself. With the resolution to
rebuild itself, Fargo not only built a
physical town, but a governmental
system, with county programs, like
their public health services.

Services

Services
o
o
o
o
o

Specialized Doctors
Pregnancy Testing
Prenatal Classes
Family Planning Care
NICU

Contact Information
o (701)234-4010
o http://www.sanfordhealth.org/farg
o

o Family planning information,

education counseling, annual
physical examination, clinical
services for men and women of
reproductive ages.

Contact Information
o (701)241-1360
o http://www.cityoffargo.com/Reside
ntial/CityServices/Healthservices/

Sanford Health
Mission
o Dedicated to the work of health and
healing.

History
o Sanford Health is an integrated
health system headquartered in the
Dakotas and is now the largest
rural, not-for-profit health care
system in the nation with locations
in 126 communities in nine states.
In addition, Sanford Health is in the
process of developing international

Adoption Services
Gods Children Adoption Agency, Inc.
Mission
o

God's Children Adoption Agency,

Inc. believes every child deserves a
family. God's Children Adoption
Agency, Inc. has been formed to deliver
quality adoption services to prospective
families and to work diligently to find
homes for children in need.

History
o

God's Children Adoption Agency, Inc.

began in 2004 after the agency's
founder, Amy Twedt, visited several
orphanages in Mexico. During these
visits, Amy felt the Lord calling her to
orphan ministry and helping children
become adopted. Originally, the agency
was named Los Hijos de Dios (Children
of God) and worked entirely with
children from Mexico. At that time, the
agency consisted of one person, Amy
Twedt, who kept busy with all aspects
of the ministry.

Charities of North Dakota for more

than 100 years.

Services
o
o

Contact Information
o
o
o

Specialized help with the adoption

process
Places children with Christian families

Contact Information
o
o
o

Mission
o

Mission

GUIDED BY OUR
VALUES, Catholic Charities North
Dakota serves people in need and
advocates for the common good of
all.

Catholic Charities of North Dakota is

part of a larger organization, Catholic
Charities USA. Catholic Charities USA
was founded in 1910 on the campus of
Catholic University of America in
Washington, D.C. Since its founding,
Catholic Charities has guided and
supported a multiple Catholic Charities
nationwide, including Catholic

CFLS was founded in 1985 to assist

birth parents with unplanned
pregnancy and help place children in
loving Christian homes. They are a
non-profit child-placing agency
licensed in the states of both North
Dakota and Minnesota.

Services

Contact: Lindsay Ness

(877)233-2015
www.adoptgodschildren.com

History

Every life is precious and unrepeatable,

CFLS is committed to providing quality
social service for both families who
want to consider adopting and birth
parents who want to explore parenting
options.

History

Catholic Family Services- Catholic

Charities ND
o

(701)235-4457
http://www.catholiccharitiesnd.org/se
rvices/pregnancy-parenting-adoption/
www.catholiccharitiesnd.org

Christian Family Life Services

Services
o

Adoption Services
Pregnancy Counseling

For Birth Parents

Free, Confidential decisionmaking counseling
Assistance in developing
adoption plan
Help in finding the right
adoptive family
Making sue all applicable laws
are followed
Assistance in coordinating
Prenatal Medial support and
care
Help in determining financial
resources available
Information about birth fathers
rights
For Adoptive Parents
Help with adoption process
Provide home study
Emotional support during and
after adoption process

Contact Information
o Phone- 701-237-4473 or 1-800747-2304
o Email- info@cflsadoption.org
8

Education
Blueprint for Birth
Mission
o Teaching women and their partners
birth choices, comfort measures,
and preparing them for their best
birth possible.

History
o Blueprint for birth was founded by
Janelle Brandon. She herself has
experienced two natural birth and
has been very active in the FargoMoorhead area attending over 5o
births as a doula and mid-wife over
the past five years. She created
Blueprint for birth to help mothers
prepare for pregnancy and the
postpartum time. Janelle wants to
help women learn from her own
experiences and will be launching
new independent Childbirth
Education Classes December 2,
2014.

Services
o Child Birth Preparation Classes

Contact Information
o Janelle Brandon
o (701)371-0798
o http://blueprintforbirth.com/

NDSU Extension Service- Cass

County- Parenting Resource Center
Purpose
o The Extension Service overall
purpose is to create learning
partnerships that help adults and
youth enhance their lives and
communities.

History
o With the passage of the Smith-Lever
Act in 1914, the now called NDSU
Extension Service was born. The act
made funds available of the state
extension effort. Thomas P. Cooper
was the first director of the North
Dakota Cooperative Extension
Service.

Services
o Parenting classes

o
o
o

How much is enough?

(Looks into how to instill
responsibility and
independence in kids)
Nurtured Heart
Parents Forever (Educational
Program for childsupportive decisions during
life transitions)
Newsletters
Father Times
Parenting News
Parenting post
Snooze News
Text 4 Baby
Gearing Up for Kindergarten
Region V parenting Resource Center
Library

Contact Information
o Cass County Extension Service
o
o
o

101 2nd Avenue South, Box 2806

Fargo ND, 58108-2806
Phone: 701-241-5700
Susan Quamme, Extension Agent
and parenting Resource Coordinator
Susan.quamme@ndsu.edu
http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/casscount
yextension/home-and-family

Mission
o The NDSU Extension Parenting
Resource Center works with various
agencies to provide prevention
education programs focused on
parenting and the family to parents,
professionals and the community in
six counties, Cass, Trail, Richland,
Sargent, Ransom and Steele.

Burke continued to adapt and

expand the curriculum until she
had a format for weekend retreats.
At first there were 18 retreats,
which grew to 35 in 2000. Today,
there are over 1000 retreats held
annually around the country.

Post-Abortive Care
Healing Hearts Ministries
Mission
o To equip lay leaders in every church
using the Gospel of Jesus Christ to
bring hope and healing to those
who are hurting by walking them
through Gods Word.

History
o Sue and Gary Liljenberg began
Healing Hearts Ministries in 1988.
Sue had suffered emotionally and
physically from her own abortion
until she discovered Jesus and his
saving grace. She began to counsel
post-abortive women and helped
teach them so they could reach out
to others. This is how their ministry
was born. Since then she has
created many other resources to
minster to both men and women.

Services
o Bible Studies
o Conferences
Contact Information
o Julie Bashore (Director of the Mido
o

Services
o
o
o
o

Retreats
Books and resources
Information for Men
Information about the impacts of
abortions

Contact Information
o Toll- free retreat information: 877
HOPE 4 ME
o Toll- free national hotlines: Rachels
Vineyard: 877 HOPE 4 ME (877467-3463)
National Helpline for Abortion
Recovery: 866-482-LIFE
o Phone: 610-354-0555
o www.rachelsvineyard.org

North Region
Phone: 253-268-0348
https://www.healinghearts.org/con
tact/

Rachels Vineyard
Mission
o Rachels Vineyard gives individuals
a weekend of healing after an
abortion. At the retreats, you are
able to examine your abortion
experience, identifying the ways the
loss has impacted you and
acknowledging unresolved feelings.

History
o In 1986, Theresa Kaminski Burke,
Ph. D. started The Center for Post
Abortion Healing, one of the first
therapeutic support groups for postabortive women. In 1994, Rachels
Vineyard was first published. Dr.

10

Jeremiah Program

Other
Lutheran Social Services of ND
Mission
o Guided by Gods love and grace,
Lutheran Social Services of North
Dakota brings healing, help and
hope

History
o Lutheran Social Services of ND was
established in 1919 and started off
as receiving homes for orphans,
homeless, abandoned, neglected and
dependent children. Over the years
they have expanded their services to
meet the changing needs of North
Dakota residences.

Services
o Healthy Families- newborn home
visitation provides support and
information about:
Wellness during pregnancy
Breastfeeding
Parenting Skills
Positive Parent-child
interaction
How to recognize and
respond to different stages of
infant and child
development
Well baby visits,
immunizations and
developmental screening to
assess the health of the child
Stress reduction techniques

Mission
o To transform families from poverty
to prosperity. Jeremiah Program will
be a leader in assisting single
mothers and their children to break
the cycle of poverty, growing its
national presence annually.

History
o Jeremiah Program was founded in
Minneapolis, Minnesota in the early
1990s when Reverend Michael J.
OConnell felt the call to break the
cycle of poverty for single mothers.
It has always been the organizations
goal to focus on higher education as
a way for mothers to move out of
poverty. In 1998, the first 18
families moved into temporary
housing and in 2004, the program
worked to expanded nationally.

Services
o Safe, Affordable Housing
o Early Childhood Education
o Personal Empowerment
Training in education and
employment attainment

Contact Information
o Phone: 701-793-5616
o Email:
FargoMoorhead@jeremiahprogram.
org
o http://www.jeremiahprogram.org/
locations/fargo-moorhead/

Contact Information
o Sandy Brandt, Program Director
Email: sbrandt@lssnd.org
Phone: 701-772-7577
412 Demers Avenue Grand
Forks, ND 58201
o Fargo Program Center
470 7th Ave. S., Suite B
Fargo, ND 58103
Phone: 701-235-7341
E-mail: info@lssnd.org
o http://www.lssnd.org/

11

Youth For Christ- Parent Life

Mission
o Of Youth for Christ- To reach young
people everywhere, working with
the local church and other likeminded partners to raise up lifelong
followers of Jesus who lead by their
godliness in lifestyle, devotion to
prayer, and the Word of God,
passion for sharing the love of
Christ and commitment to social
involvement.
o Of Parent Life- to support,
encourage, and equip expectant and
parenting teens with the life,
relationship, and parenting sills they
need for them and their children to
become healthy, successful and
responsible adults.

Mentor Moms- teems able to pair

with women who will be a friend
and role model

Contact Information
o Phone: 701-237-6682
o Email: into@redriveryfc.com
o 118 N Broadway, Suite 312 Fargo,
o

ND 58102
http://redriveryfc.com/ministries/t
een_parents/

History
o In the early 1940s, many young
men were holding rallies in Canada,
England, and the United States.
These rallies quickly organized into
the Youth for Christ movement.
From then on the movement
continued to grow and in the 90s,
YFC began to reach out to
unchurched youth and that is when
they began programs to help teen
parents.

Services
o Support groups for teen moms
o Education
Parenting skills
Nutrition
Healthy discipline
Budgeting
Healthy relationships
o Fun
Swimming, camping,
concerts, retreats, scrap
booking, and crafts
o Food Baskets
o Baby supplies
o Referral Agency
o Counseling

12