ISSUES
: Abortion
Chapter 1: Abortion facts
19
Unplanned pregnancy – the alternatives
to abortion
By Charlotte Fantelli – Mental Healthy and Julia Acott – CareConfidential
F
inding out you are pregnant can
be scary, especially if it was not
planned. A lot of women in this
situation consider abortion, but many
of these women are unaware of the
alternatives. These are some options
you may want to consider if you are
facing a ‘crisis pregnancy’.
Fostering
Fostering is not often considered as
an alternative to abortion, but there is
a lot to be said for having this help in
some situations.
Some women may find they need a
little time to make changes in their
lives in order to become suitable
parents. It may be that they need
extra help to find appropriate housing
or financial support. It may be that
they do not want an abortion but
need time to decide if adoption is the
right path for them and their baby.
Fostering involves the social services,
who will place the child with suitable
foster parents for a period of up to
six months. This can give women
vital time, the time they need to sort
out obstacles with the help of social
services.
It is a myth that social services are
child snatchers who take children
from loving parents. There is nothing
more wonderful than enabling
parents to care for their own children,
and equipping them with the support
they need to do this is one of the
roles social services plays.
During this time themother (and father
if appropriate) will be encouraged to
access the child and bond as much
as possible with the intention of
creating a stable environment for that
child to enter as soon as it is possible
for this to happen.
Adoption
There are many preconceived ideas
about adoption and many myths that
cause great concern amongst women
who find themselves in an unwanted
pregnancy situation. You may think
adoption will prohibit you from having
children living at home in the future,
or that social services will be involved
in your future pregnancies, deeming
you an unfit parent.
This is simply not the case. There
are also more open adoptions taking
place, meaning some contact can
still be made by the birth parents if
appropriate.
What is the adoption procedure?
When you are ready, a social worker
will visit you to talk about it. You don’t
need to decide now. You have plenty
of time to find out what’s best for you
and your baby.
The baby goes to foster parents for
about six weeks. You can visit during
this time to be sure that you are
making the right decision. The baby
then goes to live with the adoptive
family. After three months with them,
the adoption order can go through.
You do not have to go to court – a
social worker will visit you and ask
you to sign a legal document. You
can still change your mind after the
baby’s born at any time until the
adoption order is made.
Keeping the baby with you
For women who choose to keep their
babies in difficult situations, there
is limited support, and it is largely
down to the mother to source the
support she needs. My own local
pregnancy crisis centre Alternatives
(see
– affiliated to
CareConfidential) gives considerable
support in such situations, far more
than the NHS and social services
who frequently refer their clients to
Alternatives. The abortion providers
have no support services for those
who choose not to abort.
Crisis pregnancy help
CareConfidential Helpline
Impartial and confidential:
0800 028 2228
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The above information is
reprinted with kind permission
from Mental Healthy. Please
visit
for further information.
© Mental Healthy 2016
