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Pregnancy Options

What can a girl do when she finds out she's pregnant?

She Can Have The Baby And Take Care Of It.

This can mean a big change in a girl's life. Having a baby can be wonderful. But it is also hard work and costs a lot of money. The support of a girls partner, and parents helps, butt she may have to do this alone.

A fire should think about what she wants to do in the next few years and how she can do those thing s if she has a baby now. A fire might want to finish school, get a job, or get her own place to live before she thinks of being a parent.

If a girl decides to have the baby it is important to get special health care right away.

She Can Have The Baby And Place The Baby For Adoption.

This is a permanent decision. It means that the girl (the birth mother) decides she cannot take care of the baby. The baby's father must also decide he cannot take care of the baby. Then an agency places the baby with another family to raise. This is the adoptive family. There are organizations to help arrange adoption.

Once the adoption is final, the birth mother usually has no contact with the child. Sometimes, when the child grows up, the child may want to the birth mother.

She Can Have The Baby And Have A Foster Parent Care For The Baby For A Short Time.

Foster care means the baby is cared for by another person while the mother gets ready to raise the baby permanently. This might mean finishing school, finding a place to live or getting a job.

Foster care is handled through certain agencies. It can be difficult to arrange and may not be available.

She Can Have an Abortion.

An abortion is a medical procedure to end pregnancy. It must be done by a doctor. In the first three months of pregnancy, the abortion is called vacuum aspiration.

Abortions are safest in the first three months of pregnancy.

They are also easier to get and less expensive during this time.

A woman having an abortion will spend several hours in the clinic or hospital. The abortion procedure itself takes about 5 minutes. The rest of the time is for counseling, lab work, taking a medical history for recovery.

In the second three months of pregnancy abortions are harder to get and more expensive. There are several kinds of later abortions. One, called a D&E, is like vacuum aspiration. A D&E requires a doctor with special skills and training. Another method is to five the woman or girl something which causes miscarriage. Later abortions may require one or more days in the hospital.

In some states, teens do not need anyone's permission to get an abortion. In other states, teens need their parent's permission or a Judge's permission to get an abortion.