Amber Bradford was a bit of a late bloomer, graduating college at the age of 29. She knew she didn’t want children, opting to get a pet instead as she focused on building a rewarding career in the nonprofit sector. But Bradford’s carefully laid plans would be hindered when she discovered she was pregnant.
Bradford told Live Action News, “I had been dating a guy for six months who had custody of three children from a previous marriage. He was looking for someone to care for his children and I didn’t want to be an ‘instant mommy’ so I broke up with him. Two weeks later, I was dealing with an unplanned pregnancy.”
She called her former boyfriend and told him she was expecting their child but reassured him that she would “take care of it.” He didn’t understand she planned to end the pregnancy, and was amid re-establishing a relationship with his ex-wife, so he was happy to be relieved of any responsibility.
“I had been working as a nanny for my brother while attending night school and he had a sickly son,” Bradford said. “I saw how hard it was for my brother and how expensive it was to raise a child. I didn’t want any part of that. I wanted to be a career woman who changed lives – I was selfish.”
Further, Bradford had been living a promiscuous life – having sexual relations with various men without any entanglements. She knew she couldn’t continue her lifestyle as her pregnancy advanced.
Ironically, she had been raised in a Southern Baptist home and realized abortion was wrong but felt placing her baby for adoption would be worse than ending her preborn child’s life.
Bradford said, “An abortion would be immediate and done. I wouldn’t have to show any signs of being pregnant whereas carrying my baby to term and then placing my child for adoption would be so heartbreaking. Plus, I didn’t want a baby to disrupt my life.”
A simple lamp light steers woman toward a life affirming decision
Yet, she didn’t immediately schedule the abortion. Instead, she began to bargain. She would drive 40 minutes to her parents’ home and if their lamp light was on, she would tell them about the pregnancy. If it wasn’t, she would go through with the abortion.
“I drove to my parents’ home and stopped for gas, then I stopped again to get a drink just to delay my arrival,” Bradford said. “I knew my parents went to bed early. When I pulled into their driveway, I was stunned to see the light on. Something profound came over me. I knew then I was going to have my baby.”
When her parents answered her frantic knock on the door, she blurted out that she was pregnant, and began crying hysterically.
Bradford said, “They were accepting and supportive. My stepdad suggested that we pray. I knew then that they’d be with me for the long haul.”
She understood she would need some type of assistance. Thumbing through the yellow pages, she found a number for the local pregnancy help center.
“I took a pregnancy test there and it confirmed what I already knew,” Bradford said. “I went into a fog of depression. I couldn’t continue having relations with men I hardly knew.”
At some level, she suspected her need to use men for sex was rooted in her desire to be loved, yet she didn’t quite know why she felt that way. But the Holy Spirit had been whispering in her ear, trying to catch her attention.
“The Holy Spirit was telling me I needed this baby as much as she needed me,” Bradford said. “I was scared about the road ahead but luckily I had a wonderful best friend and the staff at the pregnancy support center who really came through for me.”
She was advised to find an OB/GYN. During a routine ultrasound, the doctor asked Bradford if she really wanted her baby. “I was horrified,” Bradford said. “My friend told me we were going to find another doctor and we did.”
At 14 weeks, Bradford began hemorrhaging and went to the ER where she learned she had placenta previa, a condition where the placenta blocks the cervix and can cause severe bleeding.
Her friend and her mother stepped up to help Bradford with her cleaning job where she earned a much-needed $400 monthly.
“I was always tired so it was a blessing that they could help out when needed,” Bradford said.
Pregnancy center instrumental in helping navigate wild, crazy months of pregnancy
During this time, she regularly visited the pregnancy help center where she cashed in her Mommy Merit points to purchase diapers, clothes, even a crib and a mattress. Since she wasn’t yet showing, she started dating again.
Bradford said, “My dates didn’t know I was pregnant. One of the guys I hooked up with became a good friend when I finally told him I was pregnant. He was very caring toward me during this time.”
The comfort and encouragement the pregnancy center staff provided Bradford was especially important since she had lost many of her friends.
“These people were lifesavers,” Bradford said. “They never failed to cheer me up when I was down. They took a genuine interest in my welfare and by doing that, they literally saved me and my baby. These were crazy, wild months when I was immersed in self-pity, wondering why all this was happening to me. But they gave me the strength to get through it all.”
It’s apparent that God’s divine guidance was always operating in Bradford’s life. She eventually married a kind man who accepted her daughter, Isabelle, now 17 years old. Together, she and her husband had a son.
Today, Bradford is the director of the Seeds Women’s Center in Minden, Louisiana. “I never thought I’d be working at a pregnancy support center, but God told me He had something big for my life,” Bradford said. “All along, he was directing my path. I can relate to just about every woman who walks through our doors as a person who once struggled to choose life. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the pregnancy support center.”
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