Take the Baby and Run - Free Help Available

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The most important things to remember are that you're not alone, and you need to take care of your health.

The Net can be a wonderful place to stay anonymous and get an eyeful of experiences and support.

Your options

Finding out you're pregnant can send common sense out the window, and it may be easy to jump at the first suggestion - which may not be the right one for you. Learning about the choices you can make is an important first step.

Talk about it

There are some great online support groups for expectant teens like the Unplanned Pregnancy Forum at Adoption.com, but, as helpful as these places might be to talk things out and hear what others have to say, remember that people in your daily life are also there to help. Counselor Mike Hardcastle suggests:

Your parents. Unless you're afraid of physical harm or that they'll force you to keep/abort when that isn't your choice (in which case talk to another adult you trust and can confide in like an aunt, grandparent, family doctor), your parents' initial reaction may be disappointment or anger, but the truth is that most parents really want to help and support their kids.
The baby's father. Just because biology connects you more closely with the pregnancy doesn't mean the father isn't involved. Unless the guy is abusive or a real jerk, his support is something you should consider.

If you know...

...you want to place your child for adoption, there are agencies with programs that will not cost you anything and can:

offer confidentiality in most cases,
cover your medical expenses,
provide you with your own legal representation,
provide pre- and post-adoption counseling, and
result in a legal adoption.

If you're looking for agencies in your area (or another, if you're thinking of getting away):

State Adoption Specialists: Source for information about agencies, the programs they offer, if they have free counseling before and after the adoption (very important), and more.
National Adoption Information Clearinghouse (NAIC): This is one of the best resources for information about your rights, options, and public and licensed private agencies in every state, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.

...you want to parent but need help, look for resources such as Medicaid (for insurance), WIC (for food), and groups dedicated to helping women of all ages (this includes teens) keep their children.Recommended ReadingAvailable online:

Next page > Report Illegal Activities > Page 1, 2, 3, 4

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Comments

The information in this article is so scary to me on so many levels. These scams promote the worst kind of lying, and not only because they can harm the first parents psychologically, physically and otherwise, but because they can affect the future life of the child for the rest of his/her life. Not only is a child denied the future right to understand her origins on an emotional level, but he/she is denied the right to know about important medical conditions in her family that could one day save her life should she get ill or have health problems.

I do wonder if there is anyone in these forums that found herself victim to these crimes, and if she was able to right them? Similarly, I wonder if anyone adopted a child that came from these circumstances, whether knowingly or without knowing, and how that has affected his/her family?

Posted by: backslash at 11/10/2005 08:52 AM

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