I’M PREGNANT & SCARED

We Can Help

Are you pregnant and scared, confused or angry; and you aren’t sure what to do? Please know that the staff and volunteers at the Care Net Crisis Pregnancy Centers of Amarillo desire to help. Our volunteer advocates will help you assess all available options – including parenting, adoption, and abortion – in a non-judgmental, non-pressured environment

My parents will kill me if they find out.
Yes, your parents may be upset and disappointed, but most parents are more understanding and forgiving than their children expect them to be. After the initial shock, parents of pregnant young women usually come to terms with the situation, later becoming an invaluable source of support. If you are afraid to tell your parents, a volunteer advocate from the Care Net Crisis Pregnancy Centers of Amarillo can work with you to determine the best way to break the news. If you decide not to tell your parents, our experience has been that the parents usually find out anyway. In these situations, parents are saddened that they weren't given the opportunity to support their daughter when she most needed it.

My boyfriend will leave me if I have this baby.
Your boyfriend is just as responsible for the pregnancy as you are. It takes two to make a baby, so his responsibility does not end just because he doesn't want to deal with the situation anymore. If he is going to leave you just because you want to give your unborn child a chance at life, it's questionable whether he loved you at all. He is treating you as no more than an object for his sexual needs, rather than a woman who is rightfully concerned about the effects of abortion on herself and her child. You may be better off without someone like that in your life right now. Either way, he is still legally required to pay child support after the baby is born. More on a Father's Rights & Duties.

I'm so embarrassed! What will everyone think?
If you are unmarried, you may fear that others will judge you for having a child out of wedlock. But there are many single parents today, some divorced and some never married. Years ago this was a real concern, but today the stigma attached to single parenthood is far reduced.

I've got my whole life ahead of me. A baby doesn't fit into my plans.
If you are ever planning on having children, one thing you will come to understand is that there is usually never an ideal time to have a baby. No matter when you decide to have a child there will be trade-offs and sacrifices to make. It's impossible to predict the future. Many couples wait a very long time to start their families, only to find later that their circumstances never became ideal.

I'm not ready to be a mother.
It is true that parenthood requires more responsibility than single life, but if you are pregnant you are already a mother. You are being responsible for the child inside of you by the way you treat your body now. The real question is, "How do I treat this child that I have already participated in creating?"

Call 806-354-2288 to schedule an appointment, or speak to someone who knows what you're going through. We also have a 24 hour helpline at 806-354-2244, or 806-212-7697 (Se Habla Español)

Adapted from M. Terwilliger, "Some Reasons to Decide...," In Pregnancy: Teen Decisions, ed. W. Dudley, Greenhaven Press, Spring 2001.