Are you pregnant and not sure you want to keep your baby? Pregnancy causes many changes physically and emotionally, an unplanned pregnancy can be confusing for a woman. Talking with someone who can to help you decide if adoption is the choice that is right for you might help. You may want to talk to your doctor, counselor, minister and family before you make a decision. There are also places where you can receive professional counseling free or very low cost.
- Crisis pregnancy center. This is a place where they talk only to pregnant women and often only about the choice of adoption and not other options for unplanned pregnancies. Some Crisis Pregnancy centers offer maternity services and many will assist pregnant mothers with housing.
- Family planning clinic. This is a place where women get birth control information or pregnancy tests, as well as support and counseling for other choices about unplanned pregnancies including abortions.
- Adoption agency. If you have decided adoption is the choice for you then you may want to contact an adoption agency directly. Starting early in your pregnancy might mean you have time to select the adoptive family and build a relationship which may offer you a more comfortable and open adoption if this is the choice you would like.
- Health Department or Social Services. A food stamps or welfare worker can tell you which clinic or department is the right one. You may also be able to access services for prenatal health care at the same time.
- Mental health center or family service agency. Counselors and therapists at these places help people in many different situations.
Any professional you speak to about your unplanned pregnancy should treat you with respect and not make you feel bad about yourself or your decision. The person you speak with may have strong feelings about adoption, abortion, and parenting a child. That persons, feelings should not influence the advice or treatment you receive. It is important that you make up your own mind, and you need clear answers from the professional you speak with to these questions:
- If I feel I cannot carry my pregnancy to term, how will you help me?
- If I decide to take care of my baby myself, how will you help me do that?
- If I want to place my baby for adoption, will you help me find an adoption agency or attorney who will listen to what I think is right for us?
If you are not happy with the answers you get, or how you are made to feel about your circumstance, you might want to find a support from another source. This is an important decision and one that you will live with for the rest of your life. You deserve to be treated with respect and given the opportunity to make the right choice for yourself.
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For more information about parenting special needs children you might want to visit the Families.com Special Needs Blog and the Mental Health Blog. Or visit my personal website.