Ames, Iowa, has only a few pregnancy services to offer after Planned Parenthood closed last year. Obria Medical Clinic and Martha’s House of Hope are two prominent pregnancy services open to everyone.
Obria Medical Clinic is a one-stop shop for all things pregnancy and health. They offer several different services such as STD testing and treatment, IUD removal, pap smears, infertility care, ultrasounds, breast cancer screening, fertility education and medical management (FEMM) and support for infant loss, grief and much more.
Obria offers a lot of early pregnancy services that can help people see if they are pregnant through testing and ultrasounds. Obria also offers parenting education classes, where expecting parents can take one-on-one classes to learn how to raise a child. For every class that a person takes, they can earn a $15 Amazon voucher, which is perfect for getting stuff for the incoming baby. Obria conducted over 200 of these parenting classes in April.
“We want everyone to feel welcome,” Tamra Call, the executive director of Obria Medical Clinic, said. “Our nurses typically spend about an hour with patients because they really want to understand their health history, how they are doing emotionally, their mental health, their social support, the decisions they are making, and how those decisions impact their health. And just have a really well-rounded conversation, and they work really hard just to build a strong, trusting relationship. And then that just helps them guide their decisions and how to best care for them too, if they can really understand them as a whole person and not just ‘what are your symptoms and here is a prescription and out the door.’”
Obria focuses on truly understanding what is happening with its patients. For patients struggling with fertility issues or PMOS (formerly PCOS), they will look closely at the woman’s lab statistics and try to fix things holistically by looking at her hormones. They try to identify what the root cause of those symptoms is, and then they try to treat the root issue instead of just putting them on hormonal birth control, which can sometimes just take care of the symptom but does not solve the underlying problem. Looking at things holistically can help women learn how their bodies work and how to either prevent pregnancy or achieve it.
Obria also offers a range of support services. If a woman miscarries, they have services in place to help that woman get through that miscarriage both mentally and physically.
Obria focuses much more on prenatal care and is more like a doctor to people for the most part. Martha’s House of Hope supports women through the different stages of pregnancy and postpartum.
Martha’s House of Hope is a maternity home for mothers who are expecting or parenting an infant one year old and under. Their current home can hold four mothers and four babies. Their programming is based on what each mother needs. They also provide transportation for the mothers to take them to work or appointments. They can help the mothers apply for jobs and college.
Marhta’s House of Hope also offers classes to teach mothers various life skills and financial literacy.
“Our mission is to provide a safe home for women, and that every woman gives birth with dignity and respect, and a part of that is having quality healthcare,” Tara Brown, the executive director of Martha’s House of Hope, said. “We primarily work with McFarland at Mary Greeley, connecting the women with an OBGYN and helping them make their regular appointments and ensure that the baby and mom are healthy. And then that postpartum support that we provide is really essential for women, especially first-time moms who don’t maybe know what changes to expect in their bodies and how to parent a newborn. Our staff and volunteers are here to walk alongside the moms and provide mentorship and support. So that way they can have a stable life and the best quality of life for them and their baby.”
Martha’s House of Hope offers everything for completely free: housing, transportation, diapers, hygiene products and more. The main goal is for the mothers to save their money so they can eventually move out and take care of their babies.
Recently, Martha’s House of Hope received another post-birth house. This is where they can choose to stay after having their child and take time to get back on their feet. They can stay here for one year, then graduate from the program and live on their own. The women can choose to stay or leave whenever they want, but this works just to give them a little extra time, support and to set them up for success.
“We are really trying to establish that long-term community support for them because we know that that’s ultimately what changes lives,” Brown said. “We are here for women, regardless of their circumstances or pasts. We really try to walk alongside each of them in this trying time of their life and give them resources that they truly need and that they deserve because we believe every single woman, regardless of their age, circumstance or religion, deserves to have a positive birth experience and deserves to give birth with dignity, respect and should be housed.”
Both Obria and Martha’s House of Hope are life-affirming businesses, so they will help mothers learn about their pregnancy and different adoption options if they do not wish to keep the child.
“We want people to know we’re here and that we can provide those services,” Call said. “All of our early pregnancy care is done at no cost. And all our other services have very low self-pay rates, and I think they’re probably the cheapest in town. We never turn anyone away for inability to pay.”
To learn more about Obria and Martha’s House of Hope, please visit their webpages.
