Exploring Your
Options
To begin to understand your
choices, you can ask yourself these questions about each option.
These will be
further explored with your decision-making counselor, but first see how you
feel with these and create your own list:
Parenting:
How
will parenting change your current lifestyle and the goals you have for
yourself?
What
barriers to parenting do you see?
How
might you handle these barriers so that you can parent?
Have you spoken with your friends and family? Have they expressed support for you to parent?
In what ways will they concretely assist you so that you can parent?
What
community resources are available to you?
What
does the father of this child think about parenting? Will he be involved?
What
is your biggest fear if you chose to parent?
Adoption:
What
do you know about adoption? What questions do you have?
What
losses can you identify with the choice of adoption?
What
are the pros and cons with choosing adoption that you can initially think of?
What
barriers are there to making an adoption plan?
What
does the father of this child think about adoption?
Have
you spoken with your friends and family? What have they expressed about this
option?
What
is your biggest fear if you chose adoption?
Abortion:
What
do you know about abortion? What questions do you have?
Do
you know if it is still possible to have an abortion at the pregnancy stage you
are currently at?
Have
you spoken with your friends and family? What do they say to you when you
discuss this option?
What
barriers are there to terminating your pregnancy?
Who
will accompany you to have an abortion, should you choose this option, who can
listen and support you?
What is your biggest fear if you chose abortion?
Consider
each of these choices carefully.
Begin
a list for each choice and bring when you meet your decision-making counselor.
She will help you define clear answers to the questions and concerns that have
come up, while posing other questions and information you may not have thought
of.
Your
decision-making counselor will help empower you to make a well-informed
decision that is just right for you and your baby.