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If you’ve missed your period and have reason to believe you may be pregnant, the first thing you need to do is find out for sure.
PSS offers free confidential pregnancy tests as well as limited ultrasound.
Maybe you’ve just found out that you’re pregnant. You’re probably a little in shock and wondering how this could have happened to you. Maybe you are thinking that abortion is the only solution. Abortion is only one solution and may not be the best one for you.
Whatever you choose will affect the rest of your life so you need to choose wisely. Listen to your heart!
There are basically three possible solutions:
- You can carry your baby to term and parent.
- You can carry your baby to term and have an adoption plan in place.
- You can have an abortion.
No matter what solution you choose, PSS would like to help and offers services that are confidential, caring, and free of charge.
PARENTING
You might want to have the baby, but just aren’t sure where to turn. There are pregnancy centers across the country who would love to help you! If you are in the Akron, Ohio area, contact PSS. If you are out of the area, visit OptionLine to find a pregnancy center near you.
If you choose to carry your baby to term and parent, PSS offers:
- A Free Pregnancy Test to determine if you are indeed pregnant.
- A Free Limited Prenatal Ultrasound to determine how far along you are.
- A List of Agencies that can offer a variety of information and assistance.
- Pregnancy and Parenting Classes to help prepare you for delivery and parenting.
- Maternity and Baby Items to help provide necessary items for you and your baby.
ADOPTION
Adoption is a legal procedure which places a child with adoptive parents who will raise the child as a member of their own family. Working with an adoption counselor, the birth mother sets up an adoption plan. In some areas, the father of the baby is also required to give consent.
 A couple wanting to adopt a child must apply and be accepted as prospective adoptive parents by a government-approved agency. A thorough home study is done to ensure that the couple will be able to provide care and love for a child.
Adoption agencies have long waiting lists of couples who are unable to have children and who are ready to love and raise a child. It’s estimated that there are at least 15 to 20 couples waiting for every healthy infant available for adoption. Many families are also waiting to adopt babies born with handicaps.
Choosing adoption as a solution means that you are concerned about being a good mother and that you understand that raising a child can be difficult. It may be something that you realize you are not prepared for or capable of doing at this time in your life.
What is important is that you do what is best for you and for your baby. Sometimes a birth parent simply is not ready to raise a child.
By choosing adoption, you give LIFE to your child, the ultimate gift. It is a mature act of selfless love for your child.
Those who care about you will understand your decision. Most importantly, you will know that you have made the right and loving choice for you and for your child.
 The choice of adoption may be made at any point in your pregnancy or after the baby is born. Many birth mothers have found that making the decision and commitment for adoption before birth makes the process easier. It is also possible to put a child in foster care while you decide.
After adoption, it’s normal to experience all sorts of emotions including grief, sadness, and loneliness. These feelings are a healthy part of life. It means you realize there needs to be a time of healing. Many birth mothers have said they have peace because they know they have made the best decision for themselves and their babies.
Counselors are available through the adoption agencies who can help you through the time after you’ve placed your child with a family.
If you choose to carry your baby to term and have an adoption plan in place, PSS offers:
- Referrals to Adoption Agencies who will help you prepare an adoption plan.
ABORTION
While abortion may be a “quick fix” to an unexpected or inconvenient situation, it is a permanent decision that comes with physical and emotional risks.
If you’ve been led to believe that a fetus is just a “blob of tissue,” you should know that after just 6 weeks your baby’s heart is beating. Around 20 weeks, you will be able to feel your baby move, and it is possible to tell if the baby is a boy or a girl. Be sure you know and consider the truth about pregnancy.
If you are feeling pressured to have an abortion, remember that the decision is yours to make. No one can force you to have an abortion. In fact, it is illegal for someone to do so. Ultimately, you will be the one who must live with whatever decision you make.
If you’ve been told that abortion is safe because it’s legal, please take time to consider all of the risks associated with abortion. As is the case with any medical procedure, the best decision is an informed one.
Physical Risks - ripping or perforation of the uterus; excessive bleeding; infection; hemorrhage; cervical injury; fever; endotoxic shock; second degree burns; vomiting; chronic abdominal pain; increased risk of ectopic (tubal) pregnancy; increased risk of cervical cancer; increased risk of Pelvice Inflammatory Disease (PID); increased risk of breast cancer (risk doubles after 1 abortion and increases with 2 or more abortions)
Mental/Emotional Risks - Studies done of women who had chosen abortion have found that: 28% attempted suicide; 31% experienced suicidal feelings; 60% said that the decision to abort made their lives worse; 94% regretted their decision.
Abortion Procedures
The type of procedure is determined by how far along you are in your pregnancy.
Before 14 Weeks
RU-486 (Medical Abortion) - This type of medical abortion is used very early in pregnancy, no later than 9 weeks after your last period. Your doctor would either give you an oral dose or or an injection of Mifepristone. This drug stops the natural function of your body. The lining of your uterus softens and breaks down. Two days later, you would retrn to the clinic for a check-up. If the baby hasn’t been expelled, you will be given another drug (Cytotec or Misoprostol) to make your cervix dilate and your uterus contract in order to push the baby from your body. Often times, the clinic will give you this second dose to take home with you during your initial visit. This procedure can cause cramping, bleeding, nausea, and diarrhea. In some cases, this procedure results in a failed abortion. If so, the doctor will want to perform a surgical abortion to extract the baby.
Suction Aspiration (Surgical Abortion) - For this procedure, you lie on your back with your feet in stirrups and the doctor administers a shot of anesthetic to your cervix to reduce pain. Your cervical muscle is stretched with cone-shaped rods until the opening is wide enough to allow the abortion tools to pass into your uterus. Then the doctor guides the suction device through the cervix into your uterus. When the suction machine is turned on, you will feel the strong force of the vacuum which is used to pull the placenta and fetus into parts small enough to pass out of your body through the suction tube.
D&C or Dilation and Curettage (Surgical Abortion) - The doctor opens your cervix, as in a suction procedure, but in this case the abortion is done with a loop-shaped knife which is used to scrape the wall of your uterus, cutting the fetus and placenta into smaller parts which are pulled out of your body through the cervix. There is a higher risk of your uterus being perforated with this procedure. A general anesthesia is usually required.
After 14 Weeks
D&C or Dilation and Curettage (Surgical Abortion) - Because the bones of the fetus are larger and strong by this time, the doctor uses a medical instrument resembling pliers to pull the fetus into smaller parts and removes those parts from the body through the cervix. This procedure requires your cervix to be opened wider than with the suction or D&C procedures and there is greater risk of harm to your reproductive organs.
After 22 Weeks
D&X or Dilation and Extraction, also known as Partial Birth Abortion (Surgical Abortion) - Laminaria, a type of seaweed that expands when moist, is used to dilate the cervix over a 2-day period. On the third day, the membranes are ruptured. An ultrasound is used to locate the baby’s lower extremities. The doctor then uses large forceps to grasp a leg and pull it down into the vagina. After the body is delivered, the skull is lodged at the cervical opening. The doctor makes an incision in the base of the skull, inserts a suction catheter and empties the contents of the baby’s skull. Damage to your body may occur due to extensive stretching of the cervix during the procedure.
Please contact PSS if you’d like more information about abortion.
If you choose to have an abortion, PSS offers:
- Post-Abortion Counseling to help you cope with the after effects of abortion.
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