Pregnancy Options

One option open to you is parenting your baby -by yourself, with the father, or with other help. Even with the support of friends and family members, this can be an overwhelming job. Talk to your parents about how their lives changed when they had their first child. Interview friends or relatives who may be raising a child alone and ask them about the difficulties and rewards of this choice.

Figure out what kind of support you will be receiving from your family or the father, and then consider how you would provide for:

• Housing
• Utilities
• Food
• Child care (if you must work to support yourself and your child)
• Transportation (a vehicle, gas, repairs and insurance or public transportation)
• Baby clothing and diapers
• Formula and bottles
• Baby furniture and other equipment
• Doctor’s bills for well-baby check-ups and for illnesses
• Medications

If parenting is your choice and you need assistance, there are local, state, and federal resources that offer help, including:

Medicaid
Pregnancy Care Centers
WIC - Supplemental Food Program

Adoption benefits everyone involved. Many of these benefits are helpful to the birthmother and birthfather. Other benefits are directed at the child who is being placed for adoption and/or the adoptive parents. Adoption brings a positive ending to a challenging situation and benefits everyone involved.

• Potential Benefits for the Birthmother:

• Housing assistance may be available
• Counseling and support
• The opportunity to fulfill your dreams whether educational, travel, or career.
• The opportunity to make the dreams you have for your child come true.
•  Prenatal and delivery expenses are paid as needed.
• A better choice of excellent doctors and staff.
• You get to choose a family for your child that you like best, and can get to know them personally.
• A support group of birth mothers may be available to share their experiences with you.
• Members of your family may also receive counseling/support services.
• All legal expenses and attorney fees will be paid for you.
• The opportunity to bring many people a lot of happiness that could not occur without you.
• The happiness that comes with knowing that the adoptive parents know you love this baby enough to insure his or her happiness.

• Benefits for the Child:

• The love and support of adoptive parents who are emotionally and financially ready to parent
• The kind of home and family life that you desire for your child
• A two parent home that may also include a brother or sister
• Resources and provisions that might not otherwise be provided for financially
• A greater probability of good education and going to college

• Benefits for the Adoptive Family:

• Receive the joy and blessing of adding a child to their family
• Opportunity to go through the pregnancy and related experiences that would not otherwise be possible
• Ability to fulfill dreams of raising a child

• Facts

• As of the 2000 Census, there were 1.5 million children under 18 years of age in America who joined their family through adoption, 2% of all children in the US. More than 100,000 children are adopted each year.
• There are 5 million people in the US today who were adopted
• 65% of all Americans have a personal connection to adoption and view it favorably 

If adoption is your choice, please check the following sites out for more useful information.

Family Adoption Services
Lifeline

http://www.herchoicebirmingham.org/New/adoption.htm

Facing an unplanned pregnancy is hard. Fear, confusion, and anger are just some of the feelings that you may be experiencing. Before you decide, you deserve to know the facts. The law gives you the right to be fully informed about this important decision. This section will help you understand more about abortion. You do have options.

• SHOULD I BE CONCERNED ABOUT HAVING AN ABORTION? Abortion is not just a simple medical procedure. For many women, it is a life changing event with significant physical, emotional, and spiritual consequences. Most women who struggle with past abortions say that hey wish they had been told all of the facts about abortion.

• WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT PEOPLE PRESSURING ME? Remember, no person will be required to live with the consequences of this decision as much as you will. If your boyfriend or parents are pressuring you to make a quick decision, explain your needs and try to involve them in counseling to explore your positive options. You have the right to continue with this pregnancy.
• CAN I HAVE A BABY AND STILL LIVE MY LIFE? You may see this unplanned pregnancy as a major roadblock in you life. Thankfully, there are other routes that can get you back on track. Be encouraged to know that many women in the same situation have found the necessary help and resources to make positive choices and realize their dreams.

LEARN ABOUT ABORTION PROCEDURES

• MANUAL VACUUM ASPIRATION (until about 7 weeks after last menstrual period) - This surgical abortion is done early in the pregnancy up until 7 weeks after the woman's last menstrual period. A long, thin tube is inserted into the uterus. A large syringe is attached to the tube and the embryo is suctioned out.

• SUCTION CURETTAGE (about 6 to 14 weeks after LMP) - This is the most common surgical abortion procedure. Because the fetus is larger, the doctor must first stretch open the cervix using metal rods. Opening the cervix may be painful, so local or general anesthesia is typically needed. After the cervix is stretched open, the doctor inserts a hard plastic tube into the uterus, then connects this tube to a suction machine. The suction pulls the fetus' body apart and out of the uterus. The doctor may also use a loop-shaped tool called a curette to scraper the fetus and fetal parts out of the uterus. (The doctor may refer to the fetus and fetal parts as the "products of conception")

•  DILATION AND EVACUATION (D&E) (between about 13 to 24 weeks after LMP) - This surgical abortion is done during the second trimester of pregnancy. At this point in pregnancy, the fetus is too large to be broken up by suction alone and will not pass through the suction tubing. In this procedure, the cervix must be opened wider than in a first trimester abortion. This is done by inserting numerous thin rods made of seaweed (called laminaria) a day or two before the abortion. Once the cervix is stretched open, the doctor pulls out the fetal parts with forceps. The fetal skull is often crushed to ease removal. A loop-shaped tool called a curette is also used to scrape out the contents of the uterus, removing any remaining tissue.

• LATE TERM ABORTIONS (from about 20 weeks after LMP to Full-Term) - These procedures typically take place over three days, use local anesthesia, and are associated with increased risk to life and health of the mother. On the first day, under ultrasound guidance, the fetal heart is injected with a medication that stops the heart and causes the fetus to die. Also over the first two days, the cervix is gradually stretched open using laminaria. On the third day, the amniotic sac is burst and drained. The remainder of the procedure is similar to the D&E procedure described earlier.

• MEDICAL ABORTION / ABORTION PILL (abortion pill and mifepristone usually within 7 weeks after LMP) - This drug is only approved for use in women up to the 49th day after their last menstrual period. The procedure usually requires three office visits. On the first visit, the woman is given pills to cause the death of the embryo. Two days alter, if the abortion has not occurred, she is given a second drug which causes cramps to expel the embryo. The last visit is to determine if the procedure is completed. The abortion pill will not work in the case of an ectopic pregnancy. An ectopic pregnancy is a potentially life-threatening condition in which the embryo lodges outside of the uterus, usually in the fallopian tube. If not diagnosed early, the tube may burst, causing internal bleeding and in some cases, the death of the woman.

CONSIDER IMMEDIATE RISKS OF ABORTION

• HEAVY BLEEDING
• INFECTION
• SEPSIS
• ANESTHESIA
• DAMAGE TO CERVIX
• SCARRING OF THE UTERINE LINING
• PERFORATION OF THE UTERUS
• DAMAGE TO INTERNAL ORGANS
• DEATH

CONSIDER LONG TERM RISKS OF ABORTION

• ABORTION AND PRETERM BIRTH
• ABORTION AND BREAST CANCER
• EMOTIONAL & PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT
• SPIRITUAL CONSEQUENCES
  

EXPLORE YOUR OPTIONS
You have the legal right to choose the outcome of your pregnancy. But real empowerment comes when you find the strength and resources necessary to make your best choice.

Before You Decide (2008). An Abortion Education Resource  [Brochure]. Carenet