We need the support and unconditional love of our family and friends and we probably need it the most during an unplanned pregnancy. You may be afraid to share the news of your unplanned pregnancy with your family, especially your parents. You may be tempted to not tell your parents or hide your pregnancy from them. However, this is not a very good idea for a number of reasons.

Hiding a pregnancy can be very stressful and can add additional stress to an already stressful situation and will not be good for your own health and the health of your unborn baby. Additionally,... more

If the father of your child does want to be involved during your pregnancy, how can you involve him in your pregnancy when you are the one doing all the hard work, ya know, carrying a baby and all?

Below are some ways that an involved expectant father can support you during your pregnancy. Most of these suggestions will work regardless of what decision you ultimately make regarding parenting or placing your baby.

He can help you out with any housekeeping duties around the house especially during your first and third trimesters of pregnancy, when fatigue... more

In my last post, I talked about birthfather involved. Since I did not have the involvement of Charlie’s birthfather in my own adoption experienced, I asked a fellow birthmother, Kim*, to share her story of how her daughter’s birthfather was positively involved during the pregnancy. Kim leaned on her boyfriend, Rick*, for support throughout her pregnancy and after relinquishment.

In early 2002, Kim and Rick were living together when Kim discovered that she was pregnant. Initially they were going to parent,... more

I don’t write a whole lot about expectant fathers being involved in the adoption process. “Why” you may be wondering…

A great deal of what I write here is either based on my personal experience from my own unplanned pregnancies or prompted by them. Since I did not have the involvement of Charlie’s birthfather during my pregnancy and the adoption process, I have no personal experience to go from.

When I found out I was pregnant (at nearly five months along) Charlie’s birthfather and I were no longer involved. When I told him I was pregnant, he was not very happy. He wanted... more

In my last two posts, I have talked about how to tell your baby’s dad you are pregnant and how to tell your parents you are pregnant.

Telling your friends you are pregnant may not seem as daunting as telling your baby’s daddy or your parents, but it can have its challenges as well. The challenges with your friends may not lie in how... more

Telling your family, especially your parents, that you are pregnant can be scary and overwhelming. Our family wants the best for us and often an unplanned pregnancy is not in their version of how your life should play out.

Below are a few ideas to help you in telling your parents and other family members you are pregnant.

If the prospect of telling your parents (or other close family members) that you are pregnant alone is too frightening, consider asking someone (such as a close friend, counselor, teacher, clergy person, or your baby’s... more

Depending on the relationship with your unborn baby’s father, the prospect of telling him that you are pregnant might be very scary.

Personally speaking, I was very nervous about telling Charlie’s biological father I was pregnant. We were no longer dating or even on speaking terms so I’m sure he knew that something was up when I called him up out of the blue and asked him to meet me at my apartment.

Before you tell him, if you have only taken a home pregnancy test, you may want to confirm with a doctor or health department that you are indeed... more

Are you in an unplanned pregnancy and feeling pressure from others in your life? Different people in your life may be pressuring you to choose different options and with all of these people pressuring you at the same time you may feel very overwhelmed!

Perhaps you are a teenager or young adult, living your parents home, your parents may be pressuring you to choose adoption. They may feel that you are not ready to parent yet and that the best option for you and your baby may be adoption. They may not be willing to help you in parenting which... more

My co-blogger, Heather’s recent post about the media’s ignorance in portraying birthparents got me thinking about my own rant. They not only are ignorant about birthparents but about the whole adoption subject as a whole and will use it at any time to make a story "juicier." This subject has been on my mind a lot lately as the subject of adoption keeps coming up in the news more and more.

Have you noticed how the media uses adoption to describe people in... more

I enjoyed the change of format in my post in the open adoption blog yesterday entitled Top 10 Ways to Keep an Open Adoption Running Smoothly and was inspired to do more “lists” so today I give you my top five things you should not say to pregnant women considering adoption.

If you are pregnant and considering adoption, feel free to send this link to people who are supporting you in your pregnancy. After my first... more