". . . and having done all . . . stand firm." Eph. 6:13

Newsletter

The News You Need

Subscribe to The Washington Stand

X
Commentary

The Stork Advisor App: A Pro-Life Resource Designed to Direct Expecting Moms to Hope

January 27, 2024

At this point, the Biden administration (and Democrats in general) have made their stance on abortion undeniably clear. But what’s become even more evident in recent months is that it’s their number one priority. While most voters say they are most concerned about the southern border crisis and inflation, the Biden administration only seems to care about promoting the ability to murder babies in the womb.

Unfortunately, their message is deafening. For many vulnerable women in a time of crisis, the first thing they hear is often chants of “reproductive freedom,” otherwise known as the rallying cry of an abortion activist. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” So, I don’t think it’s a coincidence in the slightest that when our emotions are at a high, our rationality is often at a low.

Women — young and old — who experience an unplanned pregnancy are typically very emotional. But how could we expect anything else? More often than not, these women are terrified. “I’m not ready to be a mom,” they think. “I just can’t afford it, especially on my own,” others cry out. The sad reality is that many women who get pregnant unexpectedly do not have any form of support system.

Either their families are disappointed, their partners threaten to leave them, or they’re too ashamed to reach out for help. As such, a lot of women turn to the government. And especially under the current leadership, the government only offers one choice: abortion. This, of course, is precisely what fuels the pro-life movement to vigorously spread the true message that abortion is not the only way. But sadly, too many of these emotional, vulnerable, and scared women are unaware of the alternatives.

That is why Stan Yeatts, a practicing board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist, created Stork Advisor. Yeatts has worked with pregnant women for years, offering them help before, during, and after their pregnancies. It was through his one-on-one interactions that he realized how many women there are who don’t have easy access to help. “I don’t think anyone in the world had any idea about the problems that would continue to worsen each year,” he shared with The Washington Stand. But “the maternal mortality rate has [only] increased each year.”

Yeatts continued, “There just doesn’t seem to be anything [getting] done,” and “I wanted to make a difference.”

As Yeatts described it, just as Trip Advisor helps someone choose the right hotel to stay in and where to visit, Stork Advisor helps women choose life and gives them options for what’s next after that crucial decision. The website, StorkAdvisor.com, contains information on the pregnancy process, pregnancy resources and products, baby names, postpartum health, and ratings from specific hospitals. It connects users to resources that can help them before, during, and after pregnancy. But the app offers even more.

In addition to professional advice and information, the Stork Advisor app allows women to connect with communities to discuss their personal concerns, questions, or experiences with other women. This is especially helpful for expecting mothers who lack support in their personal lives. But Yeatts clarified that Stork Advisor is not just for women. The app also has information for men “because new dads need some support too,” he said.

However, in a society dominated by social media, Yeatts knew the pro-life mission needed to have a place in the lives of those who live largely in the technological realm. “I heard on the news … that 95% of teenagers are on social media three hours a day,” he said. Some of these teenagers, he emphasized, are pregnant, and “there is such a great risk of anxiety and depression” during pregnancy as it is. But often, social media only makes it worse.

“It’s a stressful world right now,” he added, and “the mental health problems that are rampant then filter over into pregnancy. … And so, the idea is with an app support, you’ve got this opportunity to connect and prevent this sense of isolation that is so common.”

Ultimately, Stork Advisor is designed to direct men and women in need to resources, information, alternatives, and hope. “People in my field are calling abortion … part of 'women’s health care. ‘Essential health care,’ is what I’ve seen written,” Yeatts added. And yet, in his entire career, he has never carried out an abortion. He emphasized that maternal health has become “a political football,” where common problems are connected to promoting abortion.

A major driving force behind Stork Advisor, Yeatts explained, was “that a lot of the funds that could be used for maternal health problems in the mortality rate and so forth [are] being used to promote the abortion industry.” And his hope is that Stork Advisor will serve as a medical app that helps promote life. He continued, “Medical apps are available for … care monitoring [diabetes,] weight loss, [and] smoking cessation. … [T]hey’ve been proven to make a difference in these individuals’ lives to improve their health. Why not [make] a pregnancy app like [that]?”

Yeatts said there are two patients: the baby and the mother — and both need supporting. Stork Advisor was created specifically to support them. “This is a free app,” he pointed out. “So, there’s no concern about the economic or the racial disparities if it’s available to all.” And when “36% of all counties in the United States are considered a ‘maternal health desert,’ … an app may not be able to examine someone, but at least it [can] interact in a remote way and help in some of these situations,” he concluded.

And sometimes it really is as simple as having access to an app that can direct you to hope. The pro-life movement is blessed to have people like Yeatts who use their abilities to pave the way for more and more women to choose life.

Sarah Holliday is a reporter at The Washington Stand.