Half of the pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended and many women, when they do find themselves unexpectedly pregnant, do not know where to turn for help, said Dr. Elizabeth Lunsford of Gloucester’s Riverside Partners in Women’s Health.

Thanks to the Care Net Resource Pregnancy Center, there is a place locally that provides practical help—and hope—to women facing pregnancy decisions, Lunsford said. Following two years of active volunteer work, Lunsford was named medical director of the Care Net Resource Pregnancy Center last June.

Originally from Charlottesville, Lunsford completed her undergraduate studies at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg and earned her medical degree from the Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk. She joined Riverside Partners in Women’s Health in 2014 and began treating patients in Gloucester as the health system’s full-time OB/GYN physician on the Middle Peninsula, according to a Riverside news release.

Located in Newport News on Jefferson Avenue, the Care Net Resource Pregnancy Center offers free laboratory pregnancy tests, ultrasounds to help determine how far along a pregnancy is, consultations for those facing unintended pregnancy, parenting support and post-abortion recovery services.

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