What are my options if I become pregnant?
Women today are faced with complex choices, especially where unplanned pregnancy is concerned. We should take the responsibility to be informed of all the issues included in whatever choice we make. We are much better off when we know about these issues from the very beginning, rather than finding out when it is too late.
What are the options?
- You can choose to carry the baby to term and parent
- You can choose to make an adoption plan for your baby
- You can choose voluntary termination (abortion)
You can choose to carry the baby to term and parent 
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Life Before Birth
Day 1 - The second your egg is fertilized by a sperm, it contains the plans for every detail of our baby's development, including sex, hair and eye color, and height
Week 3 - The brain, spinal cord, and nervous system develop
Week 4 - The heart begins to beat
Week 5 - Arms with hands & fingers, legs with feet & toes, and eyes can be seen
Week 6-8 - Brain waves can be detected
Week 9 - The body is nearly complete. Internal organs are present and functioning. Changes after the ninth week are primarily changes in size, rather than appearance.
Week 13 - The baby moves vigorously and can make a tight fist. The mother will not be able to feel movement until the fourth or fifth month. The fetus can experience pain.
Month 4 - The baby is 8 - 10 inches long and weighs 1/2 pound.
Month 5 - The baby may jump in response to a loud noise.
Month 6 - If the baby was born during this month and given special care, he or she could survive.
You can choose to make an adoption plan for your baby back
A woman facing an unplanned pregnancy, often feels she has very few options. She may choose marriage or single parenting. However, for many reasons, she may not be ready to parent a child. She may recognize that, although abortion is legal, it is not an option for her. Many women do not consider a third option – to make an adoption plan for her child.
To choose adoption for a child can be a very loving and mature decision – a fact often overlooked when a woman experiences an unplanned pregnancy. There are three types of adoption:
- Closed or confidential – describes a adoption where only non-identifying social and medical information is exchanged between parties to an adoption through the agency or intermediary. There is no direct, ongoing relationship between the birthparents and adoptive parents.
- Semi-open – describes a range of practices that involve the exchange of information and contact between adoptive parents and biological parents. It usually includes all relationship shy of full disclosure of identifying information (full names and addresses) and direct continuing contact between the parties after the adoption.
- Open – describes an adoption where identifying information has been exchanged between the birthparents and the adoptive parents and they have established a direct, ongoing relationship.
The PHC does not get involved in adoption except to present it has an option and to offer an Adoption Packet to the individual. This Adoption Packet list many adoption agencies in the state of Texas. The PHC does recommend an individual to talk to a representative from Act of Life to help them with their decision (713-991- 5433 or www.actoflife.org) All calls and visits may be done at the PHC.
You can choose voluntary termination (abortion)
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Voluntary Termination (Abortion) Procedures
BEFORE 14 WEEKS
Medical terminations
RU-486 - Use very early in pregnancy, no later than 9 weeks after your last period. The doctor would give you an oral dose or inject you with mifepristone. This drug stops the natural function of your body, blocking the use of an essential hormonal nutrient by the newly implanted baby, who then dies. Two days later you would return to the clinic for a check-up. If the baby hasn't been expelled, you would be given another drug (Cytotec or Misoprostol) to make your cervix dilate and your uterus contract to push the baby from your body, similar to labor. Side-effects include cramping, hemorrhage, nausea, and diarrhea. In some cases, this procedure results in a failed termination. If so, the doctor will want to surgically extract the fetus.
Methotrexate - A cancer fighting drug that attacks cells that are growing rapidly and prevents them from multiplying which kills the embryo. Methotrexate is usually given as an injection. About a week later you insert vaginal suppositories of Misoprostol that cause contractions. This drug has not been approved by the FDA for pregnancy terminations. Side-effects include hemorrhage and severe cramping. If the termination is not complete, you will have to have a surgical extraction.
Surgical terminations (extractions)
Suction Aspiration - This is the most common method of termination. For this procedure, you lie on your back with your feet in stirrups, and the doctor may apply a shot of anesthetic to your cervix to reduce the pain. Your cervical muscle is stretched with cone-shaped rods until the opening is wide enough to allow the suction device to pass through to the uterus. When the suction machine is turned on, you fell the strong force of the vacuum which is used to pull the placenta and fetus into parts small enough to pass our of your body through the suction tube.
Dilation and Curettage (D&C) - The doctor opens your cervix, as described above, but in this case the termination 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 and pulling them out of your body through the cervix. There is a higher risk of perforation your uterus with this procedure. A general anesthesia is usually required.
AFTER 14 WEEKS
(Second Trimester - 4 to 6 months)
Dilation and Evacuation (D&E) - This procedure is a two or three day procedure and usually begins with the insertion of laminaria (dry seaweed about the size of match sticks) into the cervix. The vagina is then packed with sterile gauze that has been saturated with water. As the laminaria soaks up the water, the cervix is dilated, usually overnight or over the course of a couple days. Because the bones of the fetus are stronger and larger by this time, the doctor uses a medical instrument resembling pliers to pull the fetus into smaller parts and removes those parts from your body through the cervix. There is greater risk involved with this procedure due to the size of the fetus and the required opening of the cervix.
AFTER 22 WEEKS
Partial Birth Termination (D&X) - As with the D&E, laminaria is used to open the cervix over a two day period. On the third day, the membranes (sac containing amniotic fluid and fetus) are ruptured. An ultrasound is used to locate the 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 baby's skull, inserts a suction catheter and empties the contents of the baby's skull. Damage to the woman's body may occur due to the extensive stretching of the cervix during the procedure.
This is by no means a complete list of the different types of termination procedures. These are the most common used today. All the procedures are done without consideration for the unborn child's ability to feel pain.
Physical Risks
As someone considering voluntary termination, you have a right to be aware of these potential complications.
HEMORRHAGE
Sometimes women bleed heavily during a termination procedure or for a few days afterwards. With a medical termination (RU-486) bleeding lasts 13-15 days or more. Occasionally it is necessary to receive a transfusion to replace the lost blood. Sometimes a second curettage procedure or hysterectomy is needed to stop the bleeding.
INFECTION
The uterus is susceptible to infection right after a termination especially if part of the baby or placenta is accidentally left inside of you. Infections are even more of a risk if you have chlamydia or gonorrhea. Symptoms are pain and fever. This is generally treated with antibiotics but sometimes another curettage must be used. If untreated, a very serious infection can develop and could result in infertility or even death.
PERFORATION
Sometimes the tools of termination are accidentally pushed through the wall of the uterus during the procedure. This can cause damage to your bowels, making a colostomy necessary or it can damage other internal organs. This complication can cause extensive bleeding.
EFFECTS ON LATER PREGNANCIES
Injury to the cervix may cause the early loss of a later, planned pregnancy. Scarring, which blocks your fallopian tubes, may also occur. This can keep you from becoming pregnant in the future. The risk of miscarriage in later pregnancies is higher if a woman has had two or more terminations.
CONTINUED PREGNANCY
The fetus may be growing in your fallopian tube rather than in your uterus. A surgical termination procedure would miss this. The continued growth of the fetus in your tube is dangerous and potentially fatal.
BREAST CANCER
A number of scientific studies show a link between voluntary termination and breast cancer, especially if the woman terminates her first pregnancy.
DEATH
Death has occurred after termination procedures, although this is rare. When termination is done after the first three months of pregnancy , the risk of death increases. The cause of death by termination is usually from heavy bleeding or from complications with the drugs used for pain.
Emotional Risks
Some women experience an immediate feeling of relief following the termination procedure, but many later find themselves coping with feelings they did not expect. They may have a difficult time talking about these feelings. Some psychologists have labeled these problems as Post Abortion (voluntary termination) Stress.
Spiritual Risks
If you are a Christian, a believer in Christ, a decision to terminate a pregnancy carries with it a conflict in your spiritual life. The Bible is very clear about God's love and concern for each of us from the time we are conceived. It's important for you to know how God saw you before you were born and how He sees your unborn child. God cares about this choice you are making. Every human is created in His image and for a purpose. NO LIFE IS A MISTAKE.
"I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my spokesman to the world." Jeremiah 1:5
"You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day passed." Psalm 139:15-16
"Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life and your descendants might live! Choose to love the Lord your God and to obey Him and commit yourself to Him, for He is your life." Deuteronomy 30:19-20
Before you make your final decision, get all the information you can about each of the choices. In spite of the intense pressure you may feel, carefully weigh each option based on your information, not on your emotion. Use your head to guide your heart. You, more than anyone else, will live with the outcome of your decision. back