Teenage pregnancy is something that should be taken with high guidance and support from the family. For a pregnant teenage girl, she might consider this as the biggest crisis in her life. This may be unacceptable for the family but there will be more serious effect if the family won't provide any support and understanding.
Teenage girls who have unwanted pregnancies may suffer serious psychological problems like depression and anxiety, according to Mayo Clinic. As parents, you need to discuss the issue with your daughter and provide her the utmost understanding. Talk about her feelings and guide her with the right decisions that should be done in this kind of situation.
According to statistics, America has one million teenage pregnancies each year, and 35% of it intended to get an abortion. This could be the very first thing teenage girls will have in mind due to fear and guilt, so it is very important for them to have someone who they can talk to about it.
Here are three possible options that parents can do to help their pregnant teen.
Explain that pregnancy can't be undone and the best way a family can do is keep the baby
Keeping the baby is the best option if you are a pro-life. Consider this a new chapter and a very big lesson for your teen. Since your teen daughter is unable to support the needs of the child, as parents, support her and the baby until the time comes that they can rely on their own. Some teenage girls choose to marry the father of their child so this will be a better option to complete the family.
Consider to have the child adopted if the family is not capable of raising the baby.
Adoption is a great choice for teen mothers who are not able to raise the baby. This is a decision that should be made by the mother of the child since the baby is her own responsibility. As parents, you need to explain to her how this will affect her emotionally. The grieving process that she needs to go through will be hard and you should be there to stand along with the decision she made.
Choosing to end the pregnancy by abortion
This is the most controversial option. Be aware that this process is not legal in many states. Keep in mind that the family has an option to have the baby adopted but if the whole family and the teen mom is fully decided then make sure that the health risk and emotional consequences have been discussed.
