How to Help a Friend Facing an Unplanned Pregnancy
Facing an unplanned pregnancy can be a scary and confusing time, and even more so if a woman feels like she doesn’t have any support while she’s facing important decisions. If you have someone in your life currently facing an unplanned pregnancy, these tips can help you provide support and love.
Be there. Unplanned pregnancies are scary and can bring up a lot of emotions and thoughts that your friend maybe never had to face before. Make yourself available – be a calming, helpful presence by offering unwavering love and nonjudgmental friendship, no matter what. Pay attention to the emotional state of your friend and family member, and offer the appropriate support.
Be a place for safety and honesty. Sometimes, an unplanned pregnancy can bring up things your friend or family member never thought she’d have to think about. Be a safe, caring place for her to openly discuss her feelings.
Be careful with your words. Chances are, your friend may have already been beating herself up over decisions she made, so don’t bring up ways the situation could have been prevented. Chances are good plenty of people are already giving her grief, so be a place that is non-judgmental.
Encourage her. She may be feeling pressure to make decisions – encourage her to research her options and to be fully informed before making a decision that will impact the rest of her life. Be her advocate, offering words of encouragement and love.
Help her. She’s probably stressed out and worried, so offer specific help. Schedule an appointment for her with a pregnancy help clinic so that she can learn all of her options and find the resources available to help her. Offer to drive her and go with her for extra support.
An unexpected pregnancy can be a frightening and hard time for anyone. But, friends and family can offer support, love and hope to guide their loved one along the way. More than anything, your non-judgmental care will be the most important thing to help your friend on her journey.
If you have a friend or family member facing an unplanned pregnancy, or if you are facing an unexpected pregnancy, Options for Women is here to help. We have patient advocates specially trained to help every step of the way. From providing an open, caring place to discuss feelings, to helping find the resources that will be needed, our advocates are here to help women transform the fear of an unplanned pregnancy into confidence and hope for the future.
With care,
Your friends at Options
Options for Women offers free pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, STD testing, pre-termination exams, post-abortion counseling and wellness referrals. We have offices in Lakeland and Bartow, Florida. Please call for an appointment (863) 393-6988. Walk-ins are welcome.