Pregnancy options counseling is a form of

counseling Counseling is the professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes. This is a list of co ...

that provides information and support regarding

pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but ca ...

. Women seeking pregnancy options counseling are typically doing so in the case of an unplanned or

unintended pregnancy Unintended pregnancies are pregnancies that are mistimed, unplanned or unwanted at the time of conception. Sexual activity without the use of effective contraception through choice or coercion is the predominant cause of unintended pregnancy. Wor ...

. Limited access to birth control and family planning resources, as well as misuse of birth control are some of the major contributing factors to unintended pregnancies around the world. In 2012, the global rate of unintended pregnancies was estimated to be 40 percent, or eighty-five million pregnancies. Pregnancy options counselors educate women about the different options that are available and help guide them to a decision on how to proceed with their pregnancy. The options include

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

adoption Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

, or

parenting Parenting or child rearing promotes and supports the physical, emotional, social, spiritual and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood. Parenting refers to the intricacies of raising a child and not exclusively for a ...

. The job of a pregnancy options counselor is to neither encourage nor discourage a woman's particular decision, nor do they profit from the woman's choice. Rather, they present unbiased information about each of the options non-judgmentally, then help the woman explore her feelings and come to a decision that fits her best based on her values, culture, future plans, etc. Pregnancy options counseling centers differ from

crisis pregnancy center A crisis pregnancy center (CPC), sometimes called a pregnancy resource center (PRC) or a pro-life pregnancy center, is a type of nonprofit organization established by anti-abortion groups primarily to persuade pregnant women against having an ab ...

Abortion

One option that a woman with an unplanned pregnancy may consider is

, the deliberate termination of a pregnancy. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 40–50 million abortions are performed worldwide each year. About 20 million of these abortions are considered unsafe and result in around 67,000 deaths each year. Abortion rates are similar across countries despite its being legal in some and illegal in others. In other words, just as many women get abortions in countries where it is illegal as in countries where it is legal. The only difference is that they proceed with illegal abortions, which are more likely to be provided under unsafe conditions by poorly trained providers. A woman's pregnancy options in regards to abortion would be presented differently by her counselor, depending on the country they are in. The Mexico City Policy is an example of governments restricting this aspect of pregnancy options counseling.

Adoption

Adoption Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

is a permanent, legal transfer of parental rights and responsibilities from child's birth parents to the adoptive parents. Pregnant women looking to place their child up for adoption have many options as to how much involvement they wish to have in choosing the adoptive parents and to some degree. Nonetheless, birthmothers choosing to put their child up for adoption are legally terminating their parental rights to the child. Adoption laws differ state by state; adoption agencies, counselors, and lawyers can be used to provide information to the birth parents and adoptive parents about this process.

Choosing to parent

Prenatal care

If a pregnant woman seeking pregnancy options counseling is considering completing her pregnancy, whether it be in the case of adoption or that she is choosing to parent, her next step would be to start

prenatal care Prenatal care, also known as antenatal care, is a type of preventive healthcare. It is provided in the form of medical checkups, consisting of recommendations on managing a healthy lifestyle and the provision of medical information such as materna ...

. Prenatal care is a type of

preventative healthcare Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, consists of measures taken for the purposes of disease prevention.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental hea ...

which serves to prevent potential health problems and promote a healthy lifestyle during the pregnancy.

Mandatory counselling

Some countries, such as Germany, legally require pregnancy options counselling before obtaining an abortion.

References

External links

*AAFP — *AAP — *AWHONN — *AMWA — {{Reproductive health Abortion Counseling