A SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY
by Amanda Sorensen, RN, Nurse Manager
This year at New Life, we are celebrating 20 years of providing free life-saving ultrasounds! In honor of this special milestone, here is a look back at the impact of this life-changing service.
New Life in 2000
New Life bought its first ultrasound machine at the end of 2000 with a generous grant and served 37 women and their unborn children that year. The following year, more than 200 women came for ultrasounds.
There was an immediate change in the percentage of women who were making a decision for life; it was clear this was a powerful tool that would change our ministry forever. Ultrasounds have now become a cornerstone service provided to more than 400 women at New Life each year.
As technology with ultrasound has advanced, we have been able to reach women earlier in their pregnancy at the point when they are making these crucial life decisions. Not only can we confirm a viable pregnancy and help estimate gestational age, but we can provide clear images that help create an emotional connection between a mother and her baby.
Ultrasounds allow the clients to SEE the truth with their own eyes: that life begins before birth; that the “tissue” in her womb is intricately woven together into a tiny human life. She gets to see this first-hand, witnessing the baby’s heartbeat, when its tiny hands and legs move and stretch, when it hiccups or sucks its thumb, or when it moves in response to mom’s voice.
New Life Today
As we move into our third decade of providing ultrasounds, we are excited to share that we received grants from Focus on the Family and Knights of Columbus (Rochester), which provided new ultrasound machines for each of our centers. These machines utilize the latest 3D technology, allowing our medical team to provide the highest quality service possible. Because of this generous gift, we were able to pass along our previous ultrasound machines to medical missions overseas, enhancing their work and allowing women to see their baby inside their womb.
Through ultrasound over the past 20 years, 7,228 lives have been forever changed.
With these new machines, ultrasounds are clearer than ever! There is NO greater tool we have available to us that allows a pregnant woman to connect with the life growing inside of her.
We know these holy moments in the ultrasound room are just the beginning of God’s work in building families for generations to come.