You’re pregnant and you only have two choices, terminate or become a parent. Which one do you choose? You don’t really want to go through with a termination but it’s not the right time to have a baby. You wish there was another choice.
If you are exploring your options for an unintended pregnancy, please allow Avenue Women’s Center to help you. With five Chicagoland locations, we offer free, private, nonjudgmental pregnancy consultations. For more information, please contact us today.
Most clients initially dismiss the idea of adoption, but it is another choice, and some women DO end up choosing it as their best option. Here are a few reasons why adoption might be something for you to consider:
- Some women always felt like they were personally against abortion. Adoption provides them with a way to avoid abortion.
- Adoption lets you provide parents for your child when you’re feeling like you aren’t prepared to parent.
- Some women are sad that they aren’t in position to provide a child with all they’d want one to have. Adoption creates a way for you to give those things to your child.
- Adoption allows you to reach your goals, such as schooling or marriage, before you have children.
There are different ways that an adoption can be structured. Perhaps you might want to consider which would be best for you:
- Open adoption. This choice allows you to have a relationship with the adoptive parents that you’ve chosen, as well as your child, after the placement.
- Semi-open. This choice allows you to choose the parents, as in an open adoption, but full identifying information is often not shared. You could consider limits you prefer for the relationship, such as exchanging photos but not sharing visits.
- Confidential adoption. This choice allows you to remain anonymous.
Many facts surprise women who decide to examine the adoption option. Perhaps these will surprise you:
- Women can make the decision to place for adoption at any time. It is possible for a woman to begin crafting an adoption plan soon after learning that she’s pregnant. More often, women wait until six or seven months into the pregnancy before they feel confident that it will be their best choice. Some women don’t even decide until after the birth of their child. Any of those time frames is perfectly acceptable.
- In fact, in Illinois – even when women make an early adoption plan, they can’t finalize the plan until after the birth of their child. That way if your circumstances or decisions change, you are always free to change your plan.
- It is not uncommon for women who already have a child (or children) to choose adoption for a later pregnancy. While some women feel secure in parenting the family they have, they believe that raising another child is not their best option. Choosing adoption after parenting is not unusual.
If you have been wishing for another choice and might want to explore adoption, we invite you to call, text, email, or chat. Our caring client advocates are here to assist you in processing through your situation. Whatever you decide is your best choice, we are here for you. Please contact us today.
The information provided here is general in nature. It is not a substitute for a consultation with a medical professional. Before any medical procedure, it is imperative that you discuss your personal medical history, risks, and concerns with your doctor. If you have questions during or after a procedure, your doctor should be immediately contacted. Avenue Women’s Center is not an emergency center. If you are experiencing severe symptoms, such as bleeding and/or pain, seek immediate medical attention. Contact your physician, go to an emergency room, or call 911.