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WHAT TO DO NEXT?

You’re pregnant. Now this news will either make you delighted and excited for the future, or terrified of it, but don’t be, you have a few options open to you. You can choose to:

• continue with the pregnancy and keep the baby
• end the pregnancy by having an abortion
• continue with the pregnancy and have the baby adopted

It is important to take time to make the decision that’s right for you, but it’s also important not to delay making your decision. Don’t let anyone else pressure you into doing something you don’t want to do. The decision is yours. Stay calm, speak to your healthcare provider, your partner, family, and friends and make sure the decision you make is what you really want. Your healthcare provider is there for you at every stage of every decision so whatever you choose, stay informed, stay healthy and stay safe.

Keeping the Baby

If you decide to continue with the pregnancy you need to start your antenatal care (care during pregnancy), whether you are planning to keep the baby or to have it adopted. As part of your antenatal care, the healthcare provider will talk to you about: healthy eating and exercise, taking folic acid, stopping smoking, cutting out on alcohol, stopping recreational drug use, whether any medicines you are taking are unsafe during pregnancy, getting advice and tests for sexually transmitted infections.

You may be worried that you won’t be able to cope with looking after a baby. Your partner, family and friends can be a great support, and enable you to have some time to yourself. Your healthcare provider can offer advice and support, and put you in touch with local groups where you can meet other new mums and get the support you need.

Abortion

Legal abortion is a safe way of ending a pregnancy. This is a decision you may make because you do not want to be pregnant and have a baby at this time. However, requirements for an abortion to be legal, differ from country to country. Therefore, if you think about an abortion, contact your healthcare provider as soon as possible in order to not miss any deadlines. In many countries the deadline is until around the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, afterwards only upon a medical indication.

Any woman who has an abortion, whatever age she is, has a right for that information to remain confidential. This means that information cannot be shared with anyone else without your agreement. If you have any worries about confidentiality discuss this with the healthcare provider you speak to about your abortion. It is important not to delay making your decision.
In-clinic procedures are safer and easier the earlier it is done in pregnancy. The majority of abortions are carried out before 13 weeks of pregnancy, and most others are carried out before the 20th week. Having an abortion will not usually affect your chances of becoming pregnant and having normal pregnancies in future. The risk of problems occurring during an abortion is low, but there are risks with any medical procedure and there are more likely to be problems if an abortion is carried out unsafely or later in a pregnancy. In rare cases, serious complications may be fatal and harm your body emotionally and physically e.g. metal depression, damage to the cervix, womb or other organs, or excessive bleeding.
A woman can experience many different feelings after an abortion. Some women feel sad and upset immediately after an abortion but the majority don’t experience long-term psychological problems. However, make sure that you talk to your healthcare provider about effective forms of contraception which can protect you before pregnancy proactively and are less harmful.

Adoption

Adoption could be a choice for you if you do not want to bring up the baby yourself but you do not want an abortion. Adoption is a way of giving the baby new parents who will bring them up as their own. You will continue with the pregnancy and give birth, but you won’t look after the baby, and you won’t have legal rights or responsibilities regarding the child once the adoption is complete. Adoption is a formal process organized by adoption agencies and local authorities, and made legal by the courts. Once an adoption is made legal the decision is final and cannot be reversed.