Understanding Your Pregnancy Options

When you find out that you are unexpectedly pregnant, there are a lot of things to think about, and that’s hard to do when you are scared and overwhelmed. Take a few minutes for yourself, sit down, and just breathe.

When you feel a bit more centered, it’s time to get down to business. Let’s take a look at your options – abortion, adoption, and parenting – and consider which might be YOUR best choice.

Abortion

Abortion ends the pregnancy. There are several types of abortion, depending on how far along you are in your pregnancy. One of the deciding factors is time, so if you are considering this as an option, you should know there is a point at which this is no longer an option.

The timeframe allowing for abortion varies from state to state. For instance, Wisconsin allows them to take place up until the max of 20 weeks gestational age, while other states, such as New York, Massachusetts, Florida and Nevada allow abortions up to 24 weeks.

The different options for abortion range from “The Abortion Pill,” which is actually two pills, taken a couple days apart, to surgical procedures that increase in scope and risk the farther along you are in your pregnancy.

Parenting

About half of the women facing an unplanned pregnancy choose parenting. That doesn’t mean it is an easy decision to make and it comes with its own set of questions. Such as: Am I ready to be a parent? How will I provide? What if my relationship isn’t stable?

Experts suggest writing down your feelings – all of them – and then write down how your values and beliefs affect how you look at each of your options. What are your goals, plans and dreams? Where does pregnancy fit within them?

Adoption

In the past, the term adoption implied a stigma of failure. Today it is said that choosing adoption means you have done careful planning, and put a lot of emotional effort forth, together with some sacrifices. This decision is made with love, bravery, and selflessness.

Adoption offers many options – some organizations will let you create your personal adoption plan, including choosing the perfect adoptive family, deciding how you want your hospital experience to go, and determining the type of relationship you want to have after adoption.

There is often an adoption specialist assigned to you that helps you navigate your way through open or semi-open adoptions and choosing how to keep in touch, whether through pictures and letters, emails, texts, phone calls or in-person visits.

Make an Appointment for Help

If you need help sorting through these options, make an appointment to come see us at Willow Womens Center. Our caring advocates can help you sort through all the noise and give you information to enable you to decide what the best choice is for you and your personal circumstances.