1. I Need Your Respect

So many people in society treat unplanned pregnancy with disdain. A teen mother is considered irresponsible, inadequate, and unfortunate. If you talk to me as though I have the dignity to make good decisions, is like coming up for air in an ocean of insecurity. Let me know you trust me enough to decide what is best for my future, as well as my child’s. I am making sacrifices and tough decisions at a young age, and that makes me more grown-up than many of my peers.

2. I Need Your Unconditional Love

I feel lonely, ashamed, and guilty enough as it is. Blaming or becoming angry will only plunge me deeper into an ocean of isolation. Affirming my unique gifts and capabilities will remind me that I can have a wonderful life, even with an unexpected outcome. Reminding me of the resources, paths, and possibilities available will help me move forward with strength and resolve. It is a life-changing experience that can make me more courageous and compassionate.

3. I Need You to Trust Me

Remembering doctor’s appointments, vitamins, or counseling sessions are now my responsibility, and good practice as I become an adult with employment, relationships, and other obligations in the future. Trying to hold my hand and treat me as though I am immature will only make me feel helpless. Affirm my self-respect by allowing me to schedule my own life.

4. I Need You to Know That I Will Need Others

You may be some of the best people in the world, but you are still my parents, and I am still a young woman with an unwanted pregnancy. Resources such as a support group, counselor, close friends, books, and podcasts will be invaluable to help me keep my situation in perspective and growing personally through it. Speaking to others who have been in the same boat and have thrived through life, will give me peace and hope that I cannot get from you. There is always good lessons in every circumstance, and I do not want to waste my learning by missing valuable lessons or the people I can help.

5. My Life Is Not Over

I can still take classes, chase my dreams, become a leader, and carve out a unique path in the world. With hard work and planning, my pregnancy can become a chapter in my life that I look back on with forgiveness and appreciation. I am still the same girl you raised, and I am still capable of a life of love, fulfillment, and joy.

The post What I Want My Parents to Know About My Unwanted Pregnancy appeared first on Unwanted Pregnancy | Options, Adoption, Advice, Statistics.

In 1957, a frightened 17-year-old who got pregnant after being beaten and raped by her boyfriend made an adoption plan. Eight months later, the baby was adopted by a factory worker and hairstylist outside of Pittsburgh, who later also adopted a nine-year-old from Italy. Twenty-eight years later, that same baby, Faith Daniels, joined CBS News as one of the youngest national news anchors in history. She told the Chicago Tribune that “I think adoption is the best thing that ever happened to me. A couple that is childless and that has worked very hard at having a child, then gone through the grueling process of adoption, then suddenly finds a baby or child on their doorstep, provides the most loving environment any child can enter. For them, it’s a miracle child that has come into their home. This is what they have prayed for; this is what they have cried for. It’s the end-all. I walked into a very loving environment where everything was put on hold when they had kids. Even though my mother worked, we came first. The family was blue-collar all the way. Mom worked; dad worked. They didn’t have a lot of money, just lots of love.”

In 1957, another Faith was born, this time to a 23-year-old woman who was not prepared to parent a child. Originally from Florida, the birth mother was residing temporarily in Mississippi, where a happy couple in their thirties were parenting two boys and had, just one week earlier,  reached out to a doctor friend to let them know they felt led to adopt a little girl. They asked him to contact them if they heard of a young woman looking to place a child. Forty years later, country music superstar Faith Hill reflected on the fated turn of events that led to her adoption. “I can’t imagine the choice to do that and how thankful I am that [the birth mother] was able to give me the opportunity that I had because I was placed into an incredible home that, I mean, basically is responsible for the way I am today and the backbone that I have in order to do this for a living…I actually had a pretty amazing childhood.”

These are just two of millions of stories of adoptions that were meant to be. Quotes such as “there are no unwanted children, just unfound families” may seem trite, but there are an estimated two million families waiting to adopt a child in the United States, which is thirty-six couples for every one child who is placed up for adoption. Women looking to place their children have an abundant choice of loving couples who are bursting with affection and resources to create beautiful childhoods and promising futures for them. It is often the families that have struggled to have a child that is the most appreciative when they do become parents, and they are ready to begin raising the next generation with astonishing amounts of love and care.

As you consider your options for the future, keep in mind the stories of incredible lives that would not have been possible without a birth mother’s selfless decision to make an adoption plan. Remember that most adoptions are open, and you will be able to witness your child’s progress and accomplishments in person if that is the type of adoption you choose. But most importantly, remember that your future, as well as your child’s, is an unwritten story, and adoption can fill its pages with rich and glorious triumphs.

The post You’re Pregnancy May Be Unwanted by You, But to Someone Else, It Could Mean the World appeared first on Unwanted Pregnancy | Options, Adoption, Advice, Statistics.