Most women want to have children.  But they want to have them when they are ready.  Adult and teenage women need to make difficult decisions when faced with an unplanned pregnancy.

"What if I'm pregnant?" Women may ask this question at many times in their lives — especially when their periods are late. If you think you're pregnant, you may be asking yourself lots of other questions, too.

• Is having a baby the best choice for me?
• Is raising a child by myself the best choice for me?
• Is raising a child with a partner the best choice for me?
• Is placing the baby for adoption the best choice for me?
• Is having an abortion the best choice for me?

You want to choose what's right for you. But first, be sure you are pregnant.

How can I be sure I'm pregnant?
You can have a pregnancy test done at a clinic or at home. Home pregnancy tests are available at pharmacies. They usually cost about $8-$15. They can detect pregnancy after a missed period — some can even detect it a few days before a missed period. Be sure to follow exactly the directions on the package to get an accurate test results.

Women who take home pregnancy tests often go to clinics to have the results confirmed by a health care provider.

If your test is "positive," you will need a pelvic exam. The clinician will feel the size of your uterus to estimate how long you have been pregnant. Then you will need to decide what you want to do.

What are my choices?
You have three choices if you are pregnant.

• You can choose to have a baby and raise the child.
• You can choose to have a baby and place the child for adoption.
• You can choose to end the pregnancy.

There is no right or wrong choice for everyone. Only you can decide which choice is right for you. But deciding may not feel easy to do — there is a lot to think about.

How can I decide which choice is best for me?
Consider each of your choices carefully. Ask yourself

• Which choice(s) could I live with?
• Which choice(s) would be impossible for me?
• How would each choice affect my everyday life?
• What would each choice mean to the people closest to me?

It may also help to ask yourself

• What is going on in my life?
• What are my plans for the future?
• What are my spiritual and moral beliefs?
• What do I believe is best for me in the long run?
• What can I afford?

Talk about your feelings with your partner, someone in your family, or a trusted friend — someone you think will be supportive. Family planning clinics have specially trained educators who can talk with you about your options. You may be asked if anyone is pressuring you into any decision against your will. You may bring your partner, your parents, or someone else if you wish. You get to decide who will be a part of your decision-making process.

Look for a clinic that will give you complete information about your options. If you need help, call your local Planned Parenthood center.

Beware of so-called "crisis pregnancy centers" that are anti-abortion. These fake clinics advertise free pregnancy testing to lure women into their anti-choice agenda.

Crisis pregnancy centers

• may perform your pregnancy tests without medical supervision.
• won't give you complete and correct information about all options.
• may try to frighten you with misleading films and pictures that are designed to keep you from choosing abortion.
• will lie to you about the medical and emotional effects of abortion.
• may tell you that you are not pregnant even if you are, to fool you into continuing your pregnancy without knowing— the delay would make abortion more risky and keep you from getting prenatal care.
• may discourage you from using the most reliable methods of birth control.

Find out as much as you can about all your choices. Below is some information to consider.

How Soon Do I Have to Decide?
If there is a chance that you will continue the pregnancy — you should begin prenatal care as soon as possible. You should have a medical exam early in your pregnancy to make sure that you are healthy and the pregnancy is normal.

You can get complete information about prenatal care and how to pay for it from your family doctor, your local Planned Parenthood center, other family planning clinics, women's health centers, and your state's department of family services.  Good prenatal care is very important for a baby's health.  

If you are considering abortion — you should make your decision as soon as possible. Abortion is very safe, but the risks increase the longer a pregnancy goes on.

To make an appointment with the Planned Parenthood center nearest you about your pregnancy options and prenatal care, call toll-free 1-800-230-PLAN.

Taking Care of Yourself

• Eat enough good food — fruits, vegetables, cereals, breads, beans, rice, and dairy products, as well as fish, meat, and poultry.
• Keep your body in good shape. Stay active and get regular exercise.
• Get plenty of sleep.
• Do not smoke.
• Do not drink alcohol.
• Limit drinks with caffeine, like coffee and cola.
• Do not eat junk food.
• Do not take any drugs or medications — not even aspirin — without checking with your clinician.

You can get complete information about prenatal care and how to pay for it from your family doctor, your local Planned Parenthood center, other family planning clinics, women's health centers, and your state's department of family services. Good prenatal care is very important for a baby's health.

To make an appointment with the Planned Parenthood center nearest you about your pregnancy options and prenatal care, call toll-free 1-800-230-PLAN.

What About Raising a Child?
One of your choices is to continue your pregnancy and raise a child. Being a parent is exciting, rewarding, and demanding. It can help you grow, understand yourself better, and enhance your life.

Parenting requires lots of love and unlimited energy and patience.  It is often complicated and frustrating.  Your child's needs will constantly change and so will your ability to meet those needs.  There will be times when you may feel that you are not doing a good job at parenting.  To feel good about being a parent, it must be what you want to do — for a long time.  You already know what that means if you have other children.  If you don't, talk with other mothers.  Or you may want to consider counseling.  It can help you decide whether you’d like to raise a child.  And later on, if you decide to have a child, it can help you with the challenges of parenting.  You can find out about counseling from your local department of children's services.

You may want to raise a child with or without a partner.

Parenting With a Partner
Most of us look forward to finding a life partner — someone to share the pleasures, responsibilities, and difficulties of family life. You may consider marriage if you intend to parent with a partner.

Marriage is a serious legal contract for both partners. Each partner accepts legal, as well as moral and emotional obligations. Every state has its own laws about marriage. If you are under 18, contact your local marriage license bureau or consult your religious adviser to find out about the laws in your state.

Consider premarital counseling if marriage is one of your choices. Taking the time to talk about marriage with a counselor can make a big difference. See a private counselor or get counseling through your church, temple, mosque, or some other community service. Family counseling is also helpful for all couples, married or not — whenever they consider beginning or expanding a family.

With or without marriage, a life partnership can succeed if both people

• are deeply committed to make it work
• understand what each expects from the relationship

REMEMBER: A child can bring joy and many other rewards to a relationship. A child can also strain the best relationship. If your commitment is not solid, the relationship may fail.

Here are some things to consider if you are thinking about parenting with a partner.

	True	False
1. I'll get what I want in life if I start a family now.	[ ]	[ ]
2. We have parents who are pushing us into marriage.	[ ]	[ ]
3. We're both financially and emotionally ready.	[ ]	[ ]
4. We get upset when we talk about a long-term, committed relationship.	[ ]	[ ]
5. I know what to expect of my partner.	[ ]	[ ]
6. My partner knows what to expect of me.	[ ]	[ ]
7. Marriage will make us feel less guilty about sex.	[ ]	[ ]
8. He knows that he shares responsibility for child care and housework.	[ ]	[ ]
9. We'd stay together even if I weren't pregnant.	[ ]	[ ]
10. I'm prepared to be a single parent if things don't work out between us.	[ ]	[ ]

Think about what your answers mean to you. You may want to discuss your answers with your partner, someone in your family, a friend, a trusted religious adviser, or your counselor.

Parenting Without a Partner
The challenge of raising a child alone can also be exciting and rewarding. It is easier if you find and use all the support you can. Be sure to let family and friends know that you hope for their support before you decide to become a single parent.

Even with the help of your family and friends, being a single parent is not easy. Your child will look to you for love and care — all day, every day. And you can take great pleasure helping your child grow into a happy, independent, and responsible adult. But there will be no breaks. It takes years for children to become responsible for themselves. And convenient, affordable child care is difficult to find.

It takes a lot of money to raise a child. Earning a living for you and your child will be a real challenge — even if you have finished school and can get a good job. Your own parent(s) or other family members may find it hard to help you out with all the bills. Welfare payments barely cover the basics.

Because your child will need you so much, you may become more dependent on your own family and friends — for help with the child, for emotional support, and for money. You may have to give up a lot of freedom to be a good single parent. On the other hand, because you will not have to make compromises with a partner, you can raise the child as you wish — with your values, principles, and beliefs.

Here are some things to consider if you are thinking about parenting without a partner.

	True	False
1. Loving my baby will get me through hard times.	[ ]	[ ]
2. I'm being pressured to keep the baby.	[ ]	[ ]
3. I'm willing to put school and career on hold.	[ ]	[ ]
4. I'll be more dependent on other people.	[ ]	[ ]
5. Money won't be a problem.	[ ]	[ ]
6. My baby will give me all the love I need.	[ ]	[ ]
7. I know someone who is always available — someone I can trust to take care of the child when I'm at work or school or when I'm sick.	[ ]	[ ]
8. Having another child will strengthen my family.	[ ]	[ ]
9. I'll find a life partner more easily with a child.	[ ]	[ ]
10. My family and friends will be supportive.	[ ]	[ ]

Think about what your answers mean to you. You may want to discuss your answers with someone in your family, a friend, a trusted religious adviser, or your counselor.

To reach the Planned Parenthood center nearest you for referrals to counselors and family service organizations, call toll-free 1-800-230-PLAN.

What About Placing the Baby for Adoption?
One of your choices is to complete your pregnancy and let someone else raise your child. Many women who make this choice are happy knowing that their children are loved and living in good homes. And they feel empowered in their role as birth mother. But some women find that the sense of loss is deeper than they expected.

There are two kinds of adoption:

• Open adoption — the birth mother selects the adoptive parents for her child.  She can find out about their values, lifestyle, and religion.  Their ideas about discipline and the educational opportunities they can offer may also be important to her.  She and the adoptive parents may choose to form a relationship. It may include ongoing visits with the child. 
• Closed adoption — increasingly less common, the names of the birth mother and the adoptive parents are kept secret from each other.
  

Adoption is legal and binding whether it is open or closed. Few adoptions are reversed by the courts. You will have to sign "relinquishment papers" after your baby is born. After signing, you may be given a limited period of time during which you may change your mind. In most states, minors do not need a parent's consent to choose adoption.

Adoption laws are different in every state. Find out in advance what they are in your state. You will need to find out what rights a birth father has in your state.  You may need his consent in order to plan an adoption.  You can also find out if your state allows legally enforceable contracts for ongoing visits. Talk with an adoption counselor or lawyer before deciding on any arrangement. Be sure to read everything very carefully before you sign.

Adoption is arranged in three ways:

• agency adoption 
• independent adoption 
• adoption by relatives

All adoptions must be approved by a judge in a family or surrogate court.

For more information and resources about arranging an adoption, contact the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse — call toll-free 1-888-251-0075 — or write to the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse, 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, Eighth Floor, Washington, DC 20024.   Their website address is http://www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/index.cfm.

To locate local adoption resources, look in the yellow pages under "Adoption Agencies" and "Social Service Organizations."  You can also contact your state, county, or local department of family or child services, or your local Planned Parenthood center.

You could place your child for adoption through a public or private agency that is licensed by your state. Agency adoptions may be open or closed adoptions, but they are most often open.

Agencies may

• provide pre- and post-adoption counseling
• handle legal matters
• work with you to make hospital arrangements for your child's birth
• select, or work with you to select, a home for your child
• assist you in forming a relationship with the adoptive parents and in setting up plans for future visits (open adoptions)

Independent Adoption

You can arrange an independent adoption through a lawyer.  In an independent adoption, you can still receive counseling and guidance through a local adoption agency.

In independent adoption, the adoptive parents may hire one lawyer to represent them and another to represent you. It's best to have a lawyer of your own to make sure your interests are protected. To find a lawyer that specializes in adoption, look in your local yellow pages under "Adoption Attorneys." A social worker can also help you find a lawyer.

You may want your child to stay in your own family.  Your relative can work with an adoption agency, lawyer, or your state department of human services to arrange the adoption.  These are called kinship adoptions.  They must meet all the same legal requirements as any other adoptions.  Keep in mind that, you will have no more parental rights after a kinship adoption than if you had placed the child with strangers.

Here are some things to consider if you are thinking about adoption.

	True	False
1. I can accept not being my child's primary parent.	[ ]	[ ]
2. Adoption feels like what I ought to do, not what I want to do.	[ ]	[ ]
3. I don't feel I can fulfill all my child's needs and parent, now.	[ ]	[ ]
4. I'm choosing adoption because abortion scares me.	[ ]	[ ]
5. The child's father will approve of adoption.	[ ]	[ ]
6. No one is pressuring me to choose adoption.	[ ]	[ ]
7. I'll know my child will be treated well.	[ ]	[ ]
8. I can cope with the feelings of loss that I may have.	[ ]	[ ]
9. I have people in my life who will help me through the pregnancy and adoption.	[ ]	[ ]
10. I respect women who place a child for adoption.	[ ]	[ ]

Think about what your answers mean to you. You may want to discuss your answers with your partner, someone in your family, a friend, a trusted religious advisor, or your counselor.

Foster Care
In some cities and counties, temporary foster care may be available for the children of mothers who need more time to decide between adoption and parenting.

You and the child's father must both sign a legal foster care agreement to have another family care for your child. It's a good idea to consider a legal contract even if someone in your family provides the foster care. Legal contracts can help prevent misunderstandings.

Foster care agreements may include

• how often you agree to visit your child
• how long your child will stay with the foster care family
• how much money you may have to pay for the child's care
• how often you must see the social worker

You could lose your child if you don't keep your part of the agreement. It is important to remember that foster care is only temporary and is not a good substitute for a permanent home.

Laws about foster care vary from state to state. To find out more about foster care, consult your state's department of child welfare or talk to someone at your local Planned Parenthood center.

To make an appointment with the Planned Parenthood center nearest you to discuss adoption and your other pregnancy options, call toll-free 1-800-230-PLAN.

What About Abortion?
One of your choices is abortion. Abortion is a legal and safe procedure. About 90 percent of abortions occur during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Vacuum aspiration is the most common method of early abortion. First, the cervix is numbed. Then the embryo or fetus is removed through a narrow tube with vacuum suction. The procedure takes about 10 minutes and is usually done in a clinic, doctor's office, or hospital. You don't need to stay overnight. Most likely, you can return to your normal activities the next day.

Another early abortion option is medication abortion. It ends a pregnancy without the use of instruments. Medication abortion is done with medicine up to 49, 56, or 63 days after the first day of a woman's last menstrual period — depending on how the medication is taken. The procedure has two steps. First, your clinician will give you either a dose of medicine called mifepristone or methotrexate. Second, you will take another medication called misoprostol. For most women the abortion will be complete within four hours of taking the second medicine. Depending on which medication is used, however, the process, including bleeding, may last up to four weeks for some women. You will need to follow up with your clinician to make sure that the abortion is complete.

Abortion is safe and serious complications are rare. But the risk of complications increases the longer a pregnancy continues. Abortions performed later in pregnancy may be more complicated but are still safer than labor and delivery.

Most women say that early abortion feels like menstrual cramps. Other women say it feels very uncomfortable. Still others feel very little physical discomfort.

You will need to sign a form that says you

• have been informed about all your options
• have been educated about the procedure you choose, its risks, and how to care for yourself afterward
• have chosen abortion of your own free will

Many teenagers want to consult their parents before an abortion. But telling a parent is not required in all states. Many states do require a woman under 18 to tell a parent or get a parent's permission. In these states, if she cannot talk with her parents, or chooses not to, she can speak with a judge. The judge will decide whether she is mature enough to make her own decision about abortion. If she is not mature enough, the judge will decide if abortion is in her best interest. To find out about parental notification in your state, call your local Planned Parenthood center toll-free at 1-800-230-PLAN.

Serious, long-term emotional problems after abortion are rare — they are about as likely as after childbirth.  Most women feel relieved. Some women experience anger, regret, guilt, or sadness for a short time. Sudden hormonal changes may intensify these feelings.

You are more likely to have long-term emotional problems after abortion if you had emotional problems before your pregnancy.  You are more likely to experience serious regrets if you have strong religious feelings against it. Be sure to examine your moral concerns before choosing abortion. You may want to seek counseling counseling is available before and after abortion.

Uncomplicated abortion should not affect future pregnancies.

Most abortions can be performed in a clinician's office. They are also available in many Planned Parenthood centers, in many other reproductive health clinics, and in some hospitals. Most large cities and many smaller communities have abortion providers. Look in the yellow pages under "Abortion." Be aware that some anti-abortion "crisis pregnancy centers" are also listed in the yellow pages under "Abortion."

Ask beforehand about payment. Some providers want to be paid in advance. Some accept credit cards. Sometimes payment plans can be worked out. Some insurance plans cover part or all of the cost. In all states, Medicaid will pay for abortion if the woman's life is in danger. In some states, Medicaid will pay for abortion for other reasons, too — sometimes if the woman is 18 years old or younger. Check with your local Planned Parenthood center or your state or local health or welfare department for the kind of Medicaid coverage in your state.

Here are some things to consider if you are thinking about abortion.

	True	False
1. No one is pressuring me to choose abortion.	[ ]	[ ]
2. I have strong religious beliefs against abortion.	[ ]	[ ]
3. I look down on women who have abortions.	[ ]	[ ]
4. I'd rather have a child at another time.	[ ]	[ ]
5. I can afford to have another child.	[ ]	[ ]
6. I can afford to have an abortion.	[ ]	[ ]
7. I care about what other people will think.	[ ]	[ ]
8. I can handle the abortion experience.	[ ]	[ ]
9. I'll go before a judge if necessary.	[ ]	[ ]
10. I would do anything to end this pregnancy.	[ ]	[ ]

Think about what your answers mean to you. You may want to discuss your answers with your partner, someone in your family, a friend, a trusted religious adviser, or a counselor.

You can get abortion information and assistance at Planned Parenthood and other family planning centers, women's health centers, youth centers, and departments of health or social services. Or you can call the National Abortion Federation hotline toll-free: 1-800-772-9100.

To make an appointment with the Planned Parenthood center nearest you for information about abortion and your other pregnancy options, call toll-free 1-800-230-PLAN.