Hi, and welcome to the Crisis Pregnancy blog. My name is Heather, and I look forward to making this a safe and helpful place for women who are facing unexpected pregnancies.

In this forum we'll be talking about things like locating resources for support, the importance of trying parenting first, the pros and cons of adoption, deciding between using an agency versus doing a private adoption, finding a reputable agency, keeping the birth father involved, dealing with pressure from family and friends, making a birth plan for the hospital, and many other topics as well. If you have subjects you want me to address, feel free to e-mail me at crisispregnancyblog@adoptionmail.com, or just post here.

By way of introduction, let me tell you a little of my story. I was 26 when I got pregnant and 27 when I gave birth. I entrusted my son to his new parents in an open adoption, and we get together about once a year. Seven years have passed since my crisis pregnancy, but I remember very well the massive amounts of fear, shame, denial, indecision and doubt that I felt during the nine months of carrying my son.

I didn't have much emotional support-- I wasn't in a relationship with my son's father, and most of my family, friends and co-workers had strong, and conflicting, opinions on what I should or shouldn't do. With few people to count on, I felt depressed, scared and alone. To make things worse, I suffered from extreme morning sickness, and my pregnancy was marked by several long and expensive hospital stays. In short, it wasn't the best of times.

So let's just say I can probably relate to what you're going through now, and I hope to be someone you can count on to understand all your hopes and fears. There are hundreds of books about how to be an expectant mother in a planned pregnancy, but no one tells you what to do when becoming a mom wasn't on the agenda. I believe that by listening to and learning from the women who have been there before you, you'll be able to make the best possible decision for you and your baby…whatever that may be.