Contact: Virginia Cline, 614-885-7577

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb. 16, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ -- Heartbeat International's toll-free center number, 1-800-712-HELP (4357), has compassionate consultants available 24/7 to connect callers in English and Spanish to the closest pregnancy help organization. Heartbeat's OptionLine.org provides pregnancy support online and a state-of-the-art center locator system that allows you to find the nearest pregnancy help organization.

Heartbeat's Option Line is the proven contact center providing confidential support while connecting callers to the compassionate network of care. Our consultants connect anyone affected by an unexpected pregnancy with a nearby pregnancy help organization that will meet her needs, through a wide range of services -- most at no cost -- including pregnancy tests, options consultation (regarding abortion, parenting, and adoption), ultrasound, fatherhood classes, housing, and much more.

"We know that nothing can replace the one-on-one, love and practical support offered by pregnancy help organizations. That is why our Option Line is so vital. It reaches women who do not know where to turn and, through our 24/7 helpline and website, connects them with the support they need in their own community," said Heartbeat International President Peggy Hartshorn, Ph.D.

The visionary founders of Heartbeat International made it our mission to track every haven of pregnancy support around the globe and to list these resources in a single directory. Since 1971, the goal was to use Heartbeat's Annual Worldwide Directory to connect women with the help they needed to welcome new life.

In 2001, for the first time, Heartbeat's Worldwide Directory was made available online to help women connect with the emotional support and practical assistance they needed to sustain a healthy pregnancy.

In 2003, Option Line was founded as a joint venture by Heartbeat International and Care Net. Now, Option Line is solely a program of Heartbeat International.

The Option Line contact center has grown to handle more than 200,000 contacts (phone calls, emails, instant messages, and chats) each year. Since the first call was answered in January 2003, Heartbeat's Option Line has served more than 1.5 million contacts across the U.S. and Canada.

Heartbeat International (www.HeartbeatInternational.org), founded in 1971, is a Christ-centered association of about 1,200 pregnancy help centers, maternity homes, non-profit adoption agencies, and pregnancy help medical clinics across the nation and in 50 other countries.