Jennell Faulkner on Empowering Choice at Nest

On this episode of the We Share podcast, Alex and Julie sit down with Jennell Faulkner, Executive Director of the Nest Pregnancy Center, to discuss the mission and work behind pregnancy centers like hers. Jennell shares how the Nest provides a confidential, judgment-free space for women and men facing unplanned pregnancies—offering emotional support, resources, and practical tools such as parenting classes, baby supplies, and trauma healing.

The conversation dives into the current challenges around abortion access in Idaho, particularly misinformation about the abortion pill and its risks, such as ordering it from unregulated websites without proper medical oversight. Jennell emphasizes the importance of informed choice, highlighting that 80% of women who see an ultrasound of their baby choose life. She also speaks candidly about the real emotional and physical needs these women face and how the Nest steps in to offer support, often through unexpected community generosity.

Jennell shares her personal journey to leading the center, her belief in the power of creating safe spaces, and her hope that society can become more compassionate by listening before judging. The episode wraps with a heartfelt call to empathy: when someone you love faces an unplanned pregnancy, pause, listen, and be their safe place.

Transcript

Is when a woman finds out she has an unplanned pregnancy. It's the same feeling as if she's diagnosed with a terminal illness. I didn't have a terminal illness, but I've struggled with some other stuff and I was like, man. To have somebody sitting across from me just to hold my hand and be like, it's going to be okay.

You are strong. You can't do this. I'm here for you. And that's what resonated with me with pregnancy centers. Was the woman. Today on the We Share podcast, we're joined by Janelle Falkner, executive director of the Nest Pregnancy Center.

Welcome to the We Share podcast. I'm Julie. I'm Alex. We share ourselves and we provide a platform for others to share. We believe everyone has a purpose and a story to tell. And we're back on the We Share podcast. I'm Julie and I'm Allie. I am super excited for the guest today because this is something very near and dear to my heart.

Today we're joined by Executive Director Janelle Faulkner. She runs the Nest Pregnancy Center. She is there to help mamas who are kind of in a traumatic situation when they're bringing a baby into this world. Can't wait to have this podcast in our little We Share bank. So welcome, Janelle. Thank you so much for having me. Tell us about the Nest Pregnancy Center.

Because people are like what's a pregnancy center? So let people know what is it? Yeah, absolutely. So, pregnancy centers are, established across the country. And what we do is we help men and women who are experiencing an unplanned pregnancy. So when they find out they are pregnant and it wasn't planned, they're in a moment of crisis and they can contact us and they can come in and talk to us and will sit down and talk with them.

And, we have a nice, confidential, safe space that they can talk through what they're feeling, their fears, their concerns, and we provide that safe space to listen and help them process their emotions. And, we provide options counseling so we can talk through whatever they're thinking. They're thinking about abortion. We talk about abortion. And so if they're wanting to parent, we talk through what parenting looks like.

And then we can also talk about adoption as well. So that's kind of an overview of what we do there at the Nest. Well, I had the the great opportunity. You took time about an hour to have me tour the nest, which is located in downtown Idaho Falls, by the way, and we toured the nest. I couldn't have been more impressed with what you have put together in just such a short time.

You've been going for about a year. Correct. And I'll just give a little bit about what I saw. And then you, you go ahead and jump in and expand on any of it. It's very clean. It is very welcoming. It's soft. It's comforting when you walk through the doors. You have, a bank of supplies to help women and men who are now going through a pregnancy that maybe they're not prepared for.

They weren't ready for. You have medical services, you have full ultrasound capability. You have a network of resources that you can send people to because they're coming to you in a state of trauma often. And they need more than just what's being offered in those four walls. Okay, so with that as an overview, what would you add on to that?

Yes, absolutely. So we opened March 15th of 2024. And that's where we offered pregnancy tests, options counseling. We present medically accurate information on whatever they're thinking and feeling. So if they want to talk about abortion, we go through it's, written by an ob gyn. So all the information is just factual. And then, what they're thinking and they're feeling based on that, we'll go from there.

So for instance, we have somebody who's in crisis. You know, have you seen Maslow's hierarchy of needs? Yeah. That's how we approach every client. So first thing is, you know, if they're homeless or if they're unsafe, that's concern number one. And we provide referrals and resources for that. And then we move up that triangle, to just make sure that person is well cared for.

They have the resources that they need. So let's say they are thinking about abortion. So right now in Idaho, everyone is thinking that abortion is illegal. That is correct. Except people are ordering the abortion pill online and they're getting it. And they don't understand that they're taking it unsafely. So, for instance, the abortion pill is only approved up to ten weeks of pregnancy.

And women who are ordering it from Idaho are ordering it illegally. So they're going to these sites that are not FDA approved, and they're ordering these pills, and they don't even know how far along they are. They don't know any of the side effects. They don't know what to watch for. So what we tell them is we say you should get an ultrasound.

So we all know that information is power, right? And so we want to empower our clients to make an informed decision that they can live with long term. So we say you should get an ultrasound if not from us. Just get it somewhere else. So they can find out if the, it's a if it's a viable pregnancy.

Number one, because 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage. Number two is it an ectopic pregnancy? Because if a woman takes the abortion pill, it will not end an ectopic pregnancy. And as you guys know, an ectopic ectopic pregnancy is life threatening. Yeah. So it can die. Absolutely. So we need to make sure that that is, not what's going on with them.

And also we need to find out gestational age. So once we know how old the baby is, then they have the power and the information that they need to make that decision and they're safe. Now I will tell you 80% of the women who see their baby on an ultrasound choose life. We have not swayed them. We have not tried to talk them into that decision.

That has been their decision. And when they see that ultrasound, they see what's growing inside of them. And then the majority of those clients that we serve through ultrasound end up coming to us and saying, okay, now I've chosen to parent. Now what? That's the biggest thing is they need the resources and the tools and equipping them to be parents.

So then we talk to them. We see where their greatest weaknesses are, what their concerns are, what their goals. We break those down and then they can sign up for classes with, one of our coaches and learn about parenting skills, what to expect during pregnancy, healing from trauma, you guys, you name it. We have a lesson or a coach that can speak into that.

We have clients who are coming in writing resumes and, working with some of our volunteers. So again, a broad range of resources and topics that they can grow and learn. And two, we're helping couples. A lot of couples are coming to us. And, you know, we recently had a minor who came in and, you know, just this young girl who is expecting and she wants to parent, and she's there with her boyfriend, and they're looking at us, you know, deer in the headlights.

And they're like, we don't know what to do. So we walk them through what they're feeling. What's their fears? What's your greatest fear? Let's break that down. Let's make this so it's not so scary. So of course finances. We all know finances and scary things. So we talk to them about our jobs. What does that look like for you?

You know, we provide, referrals for housing. You know, we just kind of work through what they need and, equip them and make them feel like I can do this. I've got this. Because a lot of times in our society, people are told, you can't do that. There's no way you can handle that. But when they pause for a moment, they address those fears and they address each one specifically and they're addressing them.

We're just asking them good, open ended questions to get them to think they're like, wait a minute, maybe I can do this. And that's what we're doing with them. And then they can earn points from those classes. And then we have this beautiful boutique in our basement and they can purchase items. And then I have donors who are constantly asking, what do you need?

What do you need? So then I'll put the list out there and I'll be like, hey, I need this, I need this. I mean, you guys, I can't tell you how many times it's happened to clients like my car seat. I need one so bad. You know, my toddler car seat broke. I don't we don't have one in the boutique.

And I'm like, let me put it out there to the donors next day, I will get that car seat there in the center, like someone walked in one day and brought me three car seats and they're like, I don't know, I just feel like you need a car seat today. And it was exactly what we needed all the time.

You guys see that all the time. So that's kind of, you know, more specifically what we're doing there at the nest. All right. I want to know your path to this. Like how the nest came about, the inception of the nest. Absolutely. So in 2023, a group of ladies, went to, watch a documentary on abortion. And, they were really inspired to help women in a time of crisis.

And so they looked around and there was nothing in Idaho Falls that was doing this. So, and they wanted the biggest thing they were thinking is, is we want to create a safe space for women to talk through what they're feeling and thinking with no judgment, with no condemnation and confidentially and that safe space. So they started doing some research and looking into it, and they were like, what do we do?

And they got in touch with, an organization called connect. And connect has about 1200 pregnancy centers across the country. There's also heartbeat, and they also have about a thousand, pregnancy centers across the country. And so they're like, what do we do? So they gave them kind of the framework of what a pregnancy center looks like. And then, they found a building downtown Idaho Falls on Constitution Way, and it needed to be remodeled.

So they put the permit in and nine months later, because we all know how permits go, they were like, okay, we need to hire an executive director, but we don't want to hire an executive director until we get the permit to do the remodeling, because we need them to oversee it. The day of my interview, they got the permit, so they told me about it, though.

What? A pregnancy center was. And honestly, I was born and raised in Idaho Falls and I didn't know what a pregnancy center was. And so I started researching and looking online. And I'll be honest, like abortion is a tough issue. It's a really tough issue. I'm not an outspoken political person, but abortion is it's it hurts a mommy's heart.

I mean, just to be straight with you, it's like it's hard to understand that and wrap your brain around it. Like you can almost not talk about it. But then when I started thinking and learning more about pregnancy centers, I realized it was about the woman. It was about that person sitting across from me. Sorry. I get emotional when I talk about this.

And I don't know if you've ever been diagnosed with an illness or a struggle, and you just have that fear and that worry, and I've been there. I've gone through some stuff personally. Well, I'm going to tell you a crazy statistic. Fact is, when a woman finds out she has an unplanned pregnancy, it's the same feeling as if she's diagnosed with a terminal illness.

I didn't have a terminal illness, but I've struggled with some other stuff and I was like, man, to have somebody sitting across from me just to hold my hand and be like, it's going to be okay, you are strong. You can do this. I'm here for you. And that's what resonated with me with pregnancy centers was the woman and an individual person across from me.

I can look at look at their eyes and I can say, you're not alone. We're here advocating for them. That's exactly right. So that's my big why of why I do this. So I was like, all right, I don't know anything about pregnancy center. I had background in, business. And then I was a teacher for years, and I was like, okay, I'll do it.

So I'll be honest. It's it's all a faith journey. And, there were days I'm like, I have no idea how to do this. And I would pray and I'd be like, God, I need you to open up the door for this. And then the next day, boom, I would get an answer. Someone would call me and say, hey, I'm looking for this, or what about this?

And I'm like, are you kidding me? So again, a faith journey every day, doors were opened. There were seasons of quiet and loneliness. However, there was always days where it was just like answers to prayer over and available. Yeah, absolutely. And then running this center with women, like, right now, I need to talk to a, an attorney and get some information about guardianship, because we have a client who needs to know about that.

A client in crisis needs to figure that out. I don't know anything about that. But you know what I'm doing? I'm praying about it. So I'm just going to see what happens. And hopefully, you know, I'll get a phone call or someone will say, you should talk to so-and-so, because that's what happens with this center is God is looking down on these women, and he loves them and these men.

And he's like, they need help. They need help. And that's why I'm there, and that's why I'm doing what I'm doing. I'm curious, who are these amazing women that founded it? So, are you allowed to say. Yeah, absolutely. So, Mindy Palmer and, Angie English are two of the ladies who, work together. We're excited and passionate about this.

And they started doing the researching and the research, and then they established the 501 C3, that whole process. So this was their baby. This is what they got going. And then, they handed it off. But I consult with Mindy Palmer all the time because her heart is for women and her heart is this, this whole opportunity? So those are the two ladies.

I love it. My my thing is, I don't know Mindy or Angie, which is weird because we grew up here, but I grew up here. But what I do know is they clearly picked the right person to be the executive director. And so I know this isn't just a decision for them. That's like, all right, just put somebody in that.

And we've got this cute little thing going on. You know, I don't feel that at all with this. This is a very in the details organization which is what that when you know, an organization is in the details, you know, those women are getting taken care of truly making a difference. Yeah. It's really really great. All right.

I wanted you to explain the funding mechanism because so many things are tied to federal grants and the government, we're waiting for the government to do this. And, and the nest is not like that. No, no it's not. In fact we've had opportunities to take on some grants and to apply for them, but we have nothing but private donors.

So we have, you know, businesses, individuals, churches, you know, like we have, Girl Scouts helping us out doing service projects. So it's just honestly, it's that community. It is our community who is supporting us and who is funding us. That's it. I mean, we've gotten if you've heard of Preborn, we did qualify for a grant for for pre-born.

So they gave us some money there. But that is the only thing that we've gotten that has been outside of, you know, private donations. Yeah, I that's really important because I believe when you when money comes through the private sector, there is more care and, acknowledgment given to the dollars that are spent. And that's super important to me.

Okay. Just as a point of information for our listeners, would you explain the difference between method Preston, which is the abortion pill that you were explaining is two pills, two doses and, the plan B pill, because the plan B pill is still legal in Idaho. Smith a Preston is not. So would you give them the education lesson?

Absolutely. So, plan B is the morning after pill and that is project progesterone. So it is not an abort efficient. It is just progesterone. So what it does is it's and again I'm not a medical person but it has to do with ovulating. So it stops you from ovulating. So if you've had sex and you take it the next morning, it will stop you from ovulating.

So you don't have to have a like the egg won't fertilize with the sperm. So that's what that is. And that's why it's legal is because it is not an abort. Efficient. Right. It's truly preventing pregnancy. Right. It's preventing fertilization conception. Correct. Absolutely. And then the other one is the abortion pill. So what that does is there's two doses.

So the first pill you take which is misoprostol. And again I'm not going to say them accurately because I still have to work on that. But it is stopping progesterone. So what that does is it stops the nutrients going to the baby and it kills the baby. And so they do that. And then 40 hours, 48 hours later, they take the second dose, which is misoprostol.

I think I said it right. And what that does is it expels the pregnancy. So what it's doing, it's it's giving these women these very hard, difficult periods and it's expelling them. So what's happening is these women are not knowing. They're not being educated on what's going to happen to their body. It's like it's no big deal. Just go into your house, you know, take these pills, you know, be alone, have a hot, you know, hot pack.

Do that. Some Tylenol or ibuprofen. But there's a new study out, actually, that 1 in 10 women who take the abortion pill are having serious side effects to that and having long term consequences. But are you going to hear about that? No, you're not going to hear about that. Now that's the difference between the two. So it's kind of an overview of those two.

Yeah. Which I think is important because you know, the the political part of this gets so heated and people don't understand that, that there is a way to manage your pregnancy in Idaho. They think that it's all cut and dry, and that is not how it works, which is why I think you're such an important piece to that, because you're bringing people in and in a safe environment.

You're helping them learn about the options that are available. That's absolutely correct. So again, we're not telling them you shouldn't do this or you should. We never say that. In fact, that's the first thing we tell them is when we sit down with them, we say we do not refer or provide for abortions. We just present medically accurate information.

So you can make a decision that you can live with long term. Are you okay with that? And may I share it with you? And then we pull out our little brochure and we just read the information about the abortion pill and what to expect. Because again, if they're ordering online and they're showing because you have to say where you're from, they'll take you to a site that is not a legal site and you'll order and they they don't.

They say, how long do you how far along do you think you are? So there's no ultrasound confirming gestational age. They're just saying how far along are you. So a lot of times these women are past ten weeks and then they're taking it. And then it is an incomplete abortion. And then they have to go to the emergency room because they're having complications.

And so that's a whole nother piece. So again, we just read information that there's a possibility of this. There's a possibility of this. If this happens you need to go to the ER immediately and get some help. So like I said I'm being a little more open and honest with you guys. But if it's a client, I don't have voice inflections.

I'm not like, you need to be careful because again, we're looking at that woman right now between you two, it's like, I want them to be safe. I want them to be safe and to have knowledge and information. I would like you to cover some of those side effects. The bad ones. Absolutely. So, hemorrhaging. Hemorrhaging is one of the, major side effects that's happening to these women.

And so if you order now, the reason I know this is a pregnancy center in Lewiston, the director there called her board, and she said, I would like to order the abortion pill so I can understand. I can know what's happening so I can educate our clients. And she went through the process. It took her to a whole different site, and they had to go through DuckDuckGo to do it so you can't get tracked.

And then they said, how far along do you think you are? And they mailed order the pill. And when the pill came, the packet in there, it said, if you have any of these side effects, go to the emergency room. But do not tell them that you took the abortion pill. I mean, how how is it I can't help you if you are giving them their location, right?

I mean, what are we doing to our women? Keep this secret like it is not like. Yeah, this is the whole mental game going just totally physical game, extra comma, absolutely extra trauma. Because it's like these doctors need to know how to treat these women. And two, there's a lot of misinformation out there. Women cannot be prosecuted in Idaho for taking the abortion pill.

So when they come to us and some of them are scared to death, they're like, am I going to get in trouble? We're like, no, women cannot be prosecuted for doing this. So you are safe and all. Also, this is confidential. We will not release information. But back to the side effects so they can, hemorrhage. They can, not have a complete abortion.

So sometimes there's parts that are left inside of, the uterus. So there's a lot of pieces in that, like, you know, of course cramping, severe cramping. But the biggest one is in complete abortion and hemorrhaging. Those are the two biggest ones that they have to watch out for. Yeah. Well, and even if the the pill works appropriately, it's not designed with full knowledge.

And so you don't understand the amount of pain that you're going to be in even when it works appropriately. And that can be terrifying. You're alone. Sometimes they're hiding in the basement of their parents house, right? When you talk to this Lewiston, pregnancy center director, did they get an age verification on this this illegal website? They did not.

They didn't even ask. So you could be 14 and ordering this. Correct. Just a paranoid kid out there just trying to cover up what to do, not knowing. You know, I that's the thing that I just walked away from my tour at the nest is I worked so hard to try to empower my girls. And you're empowering women and men one another's options.

Yes. And that is, that is is beneficial of just about anything. I mean, helping them with the money and everything. That's a necessary need to all of it's necessary. But so many people feel like I'm I am worthless. Yeah, well, and that's another thing too, is when they come to us, when we, they sign up to take classes from us, we ask them, what are your hopes?

What are your dreams? What are your giftings? And they have nothing. They have no idea because they don't see the value that they have. So when we meet with these clients, we're like, you are beautiful, you are strong, you are capable, and we're speaking life into them again. It's not just about the baby. Like, of course we would love for them to keep their baby.

That's not our decision to make. That's their decision. But we speak life into them and their identity and that they are loved and that they are amazing. Because again, these women don't see themselves as valuable. And so again, when they come to us, we just speak that into them. Oh yeah, they just see themselves in crisis. Yes. Yeah.

All right. If people want to reach out and help you channel, how do they do that. So we have a website. It's Nest Pregnancy care.org. So that's one of our sites and that's our client facing site. So you can go on there and you can fill out a form, you know with more information. You can go to the very bottom of that first page and you can donate and fill out something on there as well.

We also have a donor site. It's friends of the nest.org. You can go there. You can find us on social media Instagram, Facebook, Google. So we're everywhere, I love them. I also want to point out that, you are going to be having a fundraiser, went event with the Bonneville County Republican women. I want to talk how this how we how they kind of came to this place.

The Bonneville County Republican women wanted to step away from the like the bitter rivalry in politics that has been happening in East Idaho. Yes. And, I, I had talked with a couple of them and said, you know what? Find something. Find something that is community based because that's what we need to get back to. Not well, this is my site and this is my site, and and when I heard that this was where they went with it, I, I was like doing cartwheels.

I was like, this is exactly what you've got. A group of women in there empowering women. Isn't that perfect? So they are having a fundraising event against the Bonneville County Republican women. That's on June 14th at the snake River Event Center. For people who don't know what that is, that's the the, banquet hall that's attached to the Shiloh Inn along the snake River.

Okay. So the snake River Event Center on June 14th. Tickets are available if you just go to Bonneville County Republican Women. There is a game portion where people are going to earn prizes. Just a good get together and have fun. And then dinner starts at six and I generally will be speaking there. Yeah. And I'm actually going to be telling stories about our clients with permission, of course.

And you guys, it's unbelievable what's happening at the nest and the in the lives that we're touching. And I'm going to be honest, they're touching our lives too. So it's like we are making an impact on their life, but they're doing the same thing to us as well. So the stories like the nest, they're leaving the nest.

Yes. And they're flying away at the perfect time. Beautiful. Before we close out, I want you to give this statistic the first year. How many people did you serve? The first, I should say nine months. Because you started in March of 2024, right. So we had a total of 70 appointments. So that includes pregnancy tests and then parenting classes.

And then the first five weeks of 2025, we had 55 appointments so obviously needed. And the awareness is getting out there and you're helping so many more people. I'm excited for the rest of 2025 for you. Would you leave, the podcast today with just something you'd like to share with our listeners in this experience that you've had, or even in your own life experience?

Yes. So I actually have a family member who had an unplanned pregnancy, and, it was a long time ago. So the culture was a lot different back then. But I would say to anybody that is, and your family has an unplanned pregnancy, just stop for a moment and think about how is the other person feeling. Do you want to create a safe space for them to talk through what they're feeling and thinking?

Or you want them to go to somebody else and have somebody else tell them what to do, or be that safe person and that safe place. Because a lot of times things happen that we don't like that we don't agree with. But if we just let go of our bias or our thoughts or our emotions and just think, you know what?

It's not about me right now. It's about that other person. I can't even imagine if I'm feeling this way. How are they feeling? So right now I'm just going to let it go, and I'm going to be the safe, neutral person to listen and let them unpack what they're feeling and their thinking. And if we did that in our society, what would that look like and how would that change things?

Oh, I'd be very empowering. You can still have your political beliefs. You can still have your religious beliefs. Correct. But when you put the human before those, especially in a situation, I always say whenever we talk about unplanned pregnancy, I'm like, why get angry at that point? The baby's coming, right? The baby's coming. Fertilize the ground for a beautiful childhood.

And let it all go. Yeah. And I you're doing that. I'm so grateful for the work that you're doing. Thank you Janelle. Thank you very much. You.

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