Pregnancy Care Center of Plant City

Pregnancy Care Center of Plant City (PCCPC) is a faith-based pregnancy counseling center whose purpose is to provide for those facing an unexpected pregnancy and to uphold the sanctity of human life in and around Plant City, Florida. Originally opening in 1992 as the Crisis Pregnancy Center, the PCCPC has served eastern Hillsborough County by helping thousands of women deliver healthier babies and make informed, healthy choices regarding their pregnancy. Our program offerings include pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, pre-natal and parenting classes for both mothers and fathers, material assistance, support services for adoption planning, and help for post-abortive clients. All of our services are provided for free. We also have a mobile medical unit that we take out into the communities in western Hillsborough County that need our free pregnancy test and ultrasound services.  

The mission of the Pregnancy Care Center of Plant City is to share God’s compassion and provision to those facing an unexpected pregnancy and to uphold the sanctity of human life.  

PCCPC serves several marginalized populations in eastern Hillsborough County, Plant City, and surrounding communities (Dover, Lithia, Seffner) that are often overlooked within the typical structure of healthcare. PCCPC is working to meet the health needs of these under-served communities. Many that live in eastern Hillsborough County do not have adequate access to health care. Without adequate health care, women may not receive proper prenatal care which could result in babies being born prematurely or underweight. These include young parents ages 14-24, people at or below national poverty level, and the Hispanic population. We currently have 4 bilingual staff members to assist in serving the Hispanic population in our community. 42% of the clients we served in 2021 identified themselves as Hispanic. We track the age of the clients we serve and 47% of the clients we served in 2021 were ages 14-24. We also track the income level of the clients we serve. This information has helped us understand that 60% of our clients live at or below the national poverty level. With this, we have been able to determine what the needs of the clients are and how to effectively serve them to ensure they have the necessary items when bringing a baby home from the hospital.

Our facility works with these clients to educate them in the importance of regular prenatal care. Our classes focus on the importance of prenatal care, labor and delivery expectations, and the benefits of breastfeeding. After the birth of the baby, the classes focus on infant care, nutrition, immunizations, and a variety of other topics. We also incorporate the fathers into the education process with our fatherhood lessons as he is vital to the life of the child. We believe every baby has the right to life, therefore, we want to ensure that they have a quality of life, which is why we offer prenatal/parenting classes from the time of a confirmed pregnancy until the baby’s first birthday.  Our lessons are practical, real, and applicable and can enhance a person’s parenting skills.  When they complete their classes, they earn “baby bucks” that can be used exclusively in our baby boutique which is stocked with everything parents need.  These items include: diapers, wipes, clothing, hygiene products, formula, baby food, blankets, towels/washcloths, swings, cribs and mattresses, car seat/stroller combos, high chairs bouncers, and much more. We believe that these classes not only give them the education they need to be the best parent they can be but they are also learning to work for the items they need for their families.   

In 2021 we saw 522 clients, provided 3,053 parenting classes, saw 70 babies born to our clients, had 99 clients receive Christ, and 3 clients rededicate their life to Christ.   Our program is working in our community and we are seeing families becoming stronger through education.   Participation in our program for the entire pregnancy can help a mom and dad earn everything they need to care for a baby for free. We are also able to provide free pregnancy tests and resources to assist our clients in applying for Medicaid, WIC, and other social service resources to help them.