40 Weeks Pregnancy
About 80 percent of teen pregnancies are unplanned and most of them can lead to feelings of crisis and panic. Many teens may not know what options and resources are available to them and may benefit from talking to a Pregnancy Option Counselor. Other teens may benefit from talking to a counselor about managing the stress and emotions that come with being a pregnant teen. Here are some tips on finding counseling for your pregnant teen.
Does She Know Her Options?
It is important that your teen knows all of the options available to her. When she first finds out that she is pregnant she should talk to her health care provider or find a professional to address the three options she has: 1) Have the baby 2) Have the baby and put the baby up for adoption or 3) end the pregnancy. While you may have your own beliefs and values, it is important that your teen considers all of the options available to her so that she can make the best decision that she can live with for the rest of her life. In order to find a professional that can talk to her about these options, she can search for a counselor who specializes in teens and pregnancies.
Finding a Counselor
When searching for a counselor, you may want to make your daughter appointments with multiple professionals. This way she can meet with and talk to many professionals and she can find one that she feels most comfortable talking about her feelings and emotions. If you want her to meet with this counselor long-term, throughout the pregnancy and following the birth of the child, she needs to find someone that she wants to be around for a long duration of time. The most important thing to look for is that the counselor is completely neutral on the issue and provides unbiased information and feedback to your pregnant teen. This is her decision and she should not feel pressured to make a decision by anyone.
When you begin searching for a counselor, you can simply run a quick Google search for a professional in your area. Then, call and set up the appointments so that she can meet him/her and begin finding the right counselor for her. You could also pull out the local phone book or yellow pages to find professionals in your area. Another idea would be to talk to your teen’s health care provider to see if they recommend any counselors to help your teen. Or, you could contact your teen’s school and speak to the nurse or the health teacher to find out if they have any information or counselor recommendations. One last suggestion is to contact your teen’s school counselor. They have been educated to counsel teens and if they cannot help your teen, they may know of an outside source that can.
