If you find out that you are pregnant, there are some choices you may need to make about what to do next. This section will give you information about options you can choose between.
Your options are to:
- Continue the pregnancy and parent the child,
- End the pregnancy with an abortion,
- Continue the pregnancy, and choose adoption, alternative, kinship or foster care. These arrangements may be formal or informal.
For some people this will be a straightforward choice. They might not feel like they need or want support to make a decision.
On the other hand, some people will have mixed or complicated feelings around their choices.
There is no right or wrong way to feel.
If you would like some support or find the choice difficult or stressful, there are support services and information available to help you. You don’t need to feel alone.
Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT: provides free non-directive, all options pregnancy counselling services for women and gender diverse people in the ACT. You can find more information here or call 6247 3077.
Pregnancy options
Read more »Parenting
Parenting will mean continuing the pregnancy and parenting the child when they are born.
Whether you choose to parent may depend on your stage of life, your relationships, and supports at the time of becoming pregnant, your feelings, values and culture around parenthood and other pregnancy options.
It is worth remembering that society’s attitudes around parenting and children are very different than they used to be: there’s no one way a family looks or is meant to look. There are lots of different ways to approach parenting and people from all walks of life navigate parenthood in different and positive ways.
There are also support services available to help you with parenting if that’s what you choose to do.
If you choose to continue a pregnancy, you should make an appointment with a GP to confirm your pregnancy and provide early pregnancy care.
More information about the steps to take if you are thinking about or decide to continue a pregnancy are available from Canberra Health Services.
Abortion
Abortion means ending the pregnancy with medication prescribed by a doctor, or a surgical procedure. For more on abortion, see our Abortion in the ACT page.
Adoption, kinship or foster care
Adoption, alternative or kinship care are when a child is cared for by someone other than their birth parents on a temporary or permanent basis. They can be formal or informal arrangements. Depending on the circumstances, you may or may not continue to have contact with the child.
Adoption is a choice where the legal rights and responsibilities for the child are transferred on a permanent basis to someone else. It is a formal arrangement and it means that the person or people who adopt the child become their legal parents.
Adoptions in the ACT are arranged through Child and Youth Protection Services. There is more information about adoption in the ACT here.
Alternative or kinship care is a choice where someone close to you, such as a member of your family or cultural community cares for the child, if that is what you want.
Foster care is when someone you do not know cares for the child. Foster carers are professionally trained.
For more information on adoption, kinship or foster care in the ACT, see Child and Youth Protection Services, here.
How can I make a choice?
Read more »For some people, making a choice about whether to end or continue a pregnancy may be straightforward. For others it may be a very difficult choice. There is no right or wrong way to feel.
Some of the factors you may want to consider, include:
- Your beliefs, values and culture,
- The circumstances of your relationship with the man or person involved with the pregnancy,
- The level of support you may have from family, community, friends or your partner/s,
- Whether or not you feel ready to take on a parenting role,
- The needs of children you may already have,
- Your career, study and housing situation,
- Your financial position and financial support available to you,
- Your life plans and goals,
- Your state of physical and mental health,
- Your visa or permanent residency status in Australia, and the support available to you locally,
- Genetic risk factors and the health of the pregnancy.
Your circumstances may change at different times in your life: considering whether or not to continue a pregnancy does not mean that you do not want to ever be pregnant or have children.
For more questions to ask yourself, the following resources may be helpful:
- Children by Choice Reflective Decision Making Guide
- MSI Australia 3-Step Decision Making Guide for Women and Pregnant People
- Family Planning Australia (New South Wales) has developed a booklet called Yarning about Pregnancy: Working through your options for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. It has exercises to help you work through your feelings and thoughts about a pregnancy.
Some of the information in this booklet is about services in New South Wales. You can find information about pregnancy options and abortion services in Canberra on our website here [Internal link].
It is understandable to feel overwhelmed or avoidant. It might help to take some time out for yourself, like going for a walk or sitting with a cup of tea, where you can feel safe and calm before reflecting on how you are feeling and your choices.
You may also want to seek support to make a choice.
You can talk to your partner, family members or friends if you feel safe and supported in those relationships. If you are thinking of talking to someone in your life, you could find out more about their views on abortion, adoption and kinship and foster care before confiding in them. This would be helpful to make sure that they are able to support you to talk about your choices without their personal values or biases playing a role in the conversation.
If it is difficult to make a choice, it may also be helpful to talk to a pregnancy counsellor. This is also a good option if you want to talk to someone outside of your personal relationships to help you understand your thoughts and feelings.
A word of caution: Some organisations offering pregnancy support or counselling may misrepresent their service when advertising or on their website. The advice you receive should be non-directive, non-judgmental and respectful. This means that that they will not pressure you to make a particular choice, or judge you for any of your circumstances, feelings or choices.
One way to check if the service supports all options is by asking if they provide referrals or information about services providing abortion. An all options service will give you this information. Remember that it is your choice to continue or end a pregnancy.
We suggest contacting Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT, which provides free non-directive, all options pregnancy counselling services for women and gender diverse people. You can find more information here or call 6247 3077 to schedule an appointment.
Reproductive control and abuse
Read more »Sometimes, women and gender diverse people are pressured by partners, family members or others:
- to become pregnant,
- to continue a pregnancy,
- to have an abortion.
Everyone has the right to make their own reproductive choices.
It is the right of any person who can carry a pregnancy to make their own choices about their contraception, fertility or pregnancies.
Pressuring or forcing someone to become pregnant, continue a pregnancy, or have an abortion is a form of gender-based violence. Sometimes it is called reproductive abuse, violence or coercion.
If you or someone you know needs support for reproductive violence or coercion, you can contact the following services for support:
1800 Respect: provides 24/7 confidential counselling support, information and referrals, including for reproductive abuse.
Phone: 1800 737 732
Online chat: https://www.1800respect.org.au/
Domestic Violence Crisis Service: 24/7 crisis line for anyone who is experiencing, or has experienced, domestic and family violence.
Phone: 6218 0900
Canberra Rape Crisis Centre: Free assistance, counselling and advocacy for issues relating to sexual violence.
Phone: 6247 2525 (Crisis Line available between 7am and 11pm 7 days a week).
Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT: provides free non-directive, all options pregnancy counselling services for women and gender diverse people in the ACT.
Phone: 6247 3077