If you choose to parent your child
you may need to re-arrange some things in your life.
You may need to find out how much
parental leave you will be able to take from work or if you
can continue to go to school after the baby is born. There
are also organizations that provide baby equipment exchanges
and new parent support groups.
It may be helpful to call your local
Planned Parenthood to find out what organizations or schools have
special programs for teen parents in your area.
There are different health risks for
adolescents who are pregnant. Teen mothers tend to have lower
birth weight babies which could lead to health problems for the
baby.
Prenatal classes could help you learn about
not only pain management during delivery, but also nutrition,
childcare and breast feeding. The sooner you take care of
your own health and the baby’s, the better the chances are
that the baby will be healthy at birth.
If you choose to make an adoption plan for your
child there are different ways of arranging the adoption. There are
public adoptions which are set up by organizations like Family and
Children’s Services, or private adoptions planned by lawyers or
social workers. However not every lawyer or social worker can arrange
an adoption. People that are able to handle adoptions must be
registered.
In Ontario , private adoption is a private
arrangement between the birth parents and the potential adoptive
parents, facilitated and coordinated by a licensed lawyer or social
worker. All licensee and social workers who work in private adoption must
first be approved by the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social
Services (MCSS). Private adoptions are regulated by laws set our
in the Child and Family Services Act and guidelines by the Ministry.
Private adoption is as safe as a public adoption because the MCSS
gives final approval to all private adoptions and has specific
guidelines and requirements for all professionals involved. The MCSS
requires that birth parents be offered the services of a qualified
counsellor to help you talk things over. Birth parents will also be
provided with independent legal advice. The birth parents’
counsellor is there to offer support and guidance with the decision
making process. This help is confidential and available to you for an
unspecified period of time based on the birth parents’ needs.
After the consent is signed the child is almost always placed directly
into the adoptive parents’ home. If for some reason a temporary
care home was necessary, the birth parents would be consulted and
would have to give consent to such a placement. To find out who in
your area are legally capable of planning a private adoption,
contact your local Planned Parenthood.
If you chose to have a public adoption, you
may call Family and Children’s Services (F&CS) to speak
with a pregnancy counsellor. This social worker will help by
discussing your options with you, supporting your decisions and
providing information about the process. The birth parent’s social
worker advocates for the wishes and choices of the birth parents and
will assist them in the selection of adoptive parents. However the final
choice is always in the hands of the birth parents. The services are
confidential and free.
General Information
On the eighth day after delivery of the child,
the consent for adoption can be signed in the presence of an F&
CS person, even if you chose a private adoption. If the father has
been named on the birth certificate as the father, has supported or
lived with the mother, both parents have to sign the consent. If
the birth parent(s) are under 18, the Official Guardian’s
office must have one of their staff explain the rights to the
birth parent(s) so they understand what they are signing. If
the birth parents change their mind within 21 days after the
consent was signed, they could get the child back. A birth parent
could go to their social worker to let her/him know that they do
not want to follow through the adoption plan. If the 21 days have
passed, and the child has been placed, the birth parents cannot
take back their consent. If the child has not been placed, the
birth parent(s) may go to family court and explain their reasons
for the change in the decision. The judge would decide what would
be best for the child and make a decision.
Birth parents will look at a number of profiles
of couples that would like to adopt a child. When the birth
parents have selected a few profiles that they are comfortable
with, the adoptive couples are given a profile of the child to
be adopted. Birth parents are entitled to non-identifying
information about the adopting family. If there is a match between
what the birth parents are looking for and what the adoptive
parents would like, the terms of the adoption are discussed.
Adoptions may be open or closed or somewhere
in between. With an open adoption, the birth parents may meet the
adoptive parents or may not. The birth parents may give letters,
family heirlooms or photos that will be given to the child in the
future. They may also ask for photos of the child as s/he grows.
All letters and photos are passed through the social worker or
lawyer so that the birth parents and adoptive parents’
addresses are kept confidential if they choose. If it is a closed
adoption, there is little information provided for the adoptive
parents about the birth parents. It is very likely that there is
no meeting between the birth parents and the adoptive parents.
The birth parents may ask that they receive no further information
once the child has been placed. Deciding to have and open or closed
adoption is a personal choice and both are valid options. It
depends on what the birth and adoptive parents are
comfortable with.
Before a family can adopt a child a home study
must be done. A home study is a number of interviews between the
adoptive family and a social worker approved by the MCSS. The
social worker investigates the family’s financial income,
emotional stability and overall health. This is to try to ensure
that the baby will have a good home and loving environment in
which to grow.
Birth parent(s) also need to provide a medical
and social history for the adoptive parents. The medical history helps
the adoptive family know about possible health conditions the baby may
have inherited. The social history may include a letter to the baby
about why the birth parent(s) chose to make an adoption plan.
As a birth parent, if you are interested in seeing
the child in the future, you may put your name in the Adoption
Disclosure Registry. When the child is eighteen years old, s/he may
also place her/his name in the registry. If a match is found, both the
child and the birth parents will be contacted to see if they would like
to know about the other. Both parties must be agreeable to the
information being shared. If one of them doesn’t want personal
information to be shared, it cannot be shared. For more information,
go to:
www.gov.on.ca/CSS/page/services/adopt.
An abortion is a medical procedure to end
a pregnancy which may be done in hospitals or in free-standing
clinics.
(between 5-7 weeks)
Upon arriving art the clinic you will be
given an ultrasound a blood test and an injection of
Methotrexate in the upper arm. You will be given 4 suppository
pills of Misoprostol. The pills are taken home and on day 6
or 7 they are placed, one at a time, as high as possible into
vagina. They must be taken on a day when you are able to relax
for 6-12 hours. Within 2-3 hours after placing the pills in
the vagina, you may get some cramping or bleeding. On day 8
you will return to the clinic to have another ultrasound done.
This will help determine if you have passed the pregnancy or
not. If the abortion is complete, you will not need to visit
the clinic again. If it is not complete, the doctor will add
4 more Misoprostol pills to the vagina. If the pregnancy has
stopped growing at this point you will not need to return
until 4 weeks later (day 36). If the pregnancy has not stopped
growing, you will need to return to the clinic in one week
(day 15). If you need to return on day 15, another ultrasound
will be done. If the pregnancy is still growing you would be
given the option of a surgical abortion. If the pregnancy has
stopped growing, you would be asked to return in 3 weeks (day 36).
If you need to return on day 36, another ultrasound will be
performed. If the pregnancy still has not passed and you do
not want a surgical abortion, you will be required to go back
to the clinic each week until the pregnancy is passed.
For 2 weeks after the Methotrexate shot the
woman should not have intercourse, consume alcohol or vitamin
supplements. Foods containing folic acid may interfere with the
drugs action and should be avoided for the first week after the
injection. Some foods that contain folic acids are: bananas,
organ meat (e.g. liver), grapefruit, oranges, wheat germ, whole
grains, brewers yeast, beets, peas, beans, broccoli, and dark
green leafy vegetables.
General Anaesthetic
At some hospitals the woman may need two
appointments. She will need to meet with the doctor to have an
ultrasound and to have a laminaria tent placed in the opening
of the cervix. The laminaria tent will slowly expand to open
the hole in the cervix. When the abortion is performed, the
woman will be under general anaesthetic. She will not be
awake or able to feel what is happening to her body. It is
because of the general anaesthetic that she may need consent
of a parent of guardian if she is under the age of sixteen.
Local Anaesthetic
At free-standing clinics and some hospitals
local anaesthetic is used, therefore no consent from a parent
or guardian is need - regardless of age. The woman will be
awake but will not be able to feel very much of what is being
done with her body. If a woman chooses to have an abortion under
local anaesthetic, she need only miss one day from school or work.
On the day of the abortion, the ultrasound, dilation of the
cervix, and abortion will all take place in the same day.
At most clinics and hospitals the procedure is
free as long as the abortion is done in the woman’s home
province and she has her provincial health card. There are a few
clinics that may charge for administrative costs, so check with
the clinic when you make your appointment.
Procedure
(up to about 14 weeks)
After the os (opening of the cervix) is
dilated by rods or laminaria, a hollow plastic tube with an opening
near the tip is inserted into the uterus. The aspirator (suction
machine) is turned on and the tube is moved back and forth in the
uterus and turned so that each part of the uterus comes in contact
with the opening at the tip. If the woman is awake during the
abortion she may feel cramps that are slightly stronger than
menstrual cramps. That is the uterus contracting during the
procedure. When the doctor is sure that all tissue is removed, the
pressure is stopped and the tube is removed. Sometimes the
physician inserts a loop shaped instrument, called a curette, into
the uterus to skim the inner walls to ensure the contents of the
uterus have been removed. When the procedure is complete the woman
is given a sanitary pad and taken to the recovery room. She can
rest until she is ready to go home, usually in about one hour. She
will need someone else to give her a ride home however because of
the medication still in her body.
Procedure
(15-20 weeks)
The opening of the cervix needs to be dilated
more than with an earlier abortion so that larger instruments can
be put into the uterus to remove the contents. Often dilation is
begun by inserting one or more laminaria the day before the
procedure. The woman then returns the next day to the hospital
or clinic. Some women may feel cramping or pressure with the
laminaria in place. After the os is dilated, a hollow plastic
tube with an opening near the tip is inserted into the uterus.
The aspirator (suction machine) is turned on and the tube is
moved back and forth in the uterus and turned so that each part of
the uterus comes in contact with the opening at the tip. If the
woman is awake during the abortion she may feel cramps that are
slightly stronger than menstrual cramps. That is the uterus
contracting during the procedure. When the doctor is sure that all
tissue is removed, the pressure is stopped and the tube is removed.
The physician inserts a curette and forceps into the uterus to
ensure the contents of the uterus have been removed. When the
procedure is complete the woman is given a sanitary pad and
taken to the recovery room. She can rest until she is ready to go
home, usually in about one hour. She will need someone else to give
her a ride home however because of the medication still
in her body.
Post Procedure Care
Bleeding may last 2-3 weeks, but it is also
normal not to bleed at all. Call you doctor if you are soaking
more than one pad every two hours.
Normal daily routine may be resumed the
day following the procedure. Do not do any heavy or strenuous
exercise for a few days.
You may experience menstrual-like cramps
after the abortion as the uterus works to return to normal.
Do not use Aspirin, Ponstan, Anaprox,
Naprosyn, Anacin, 22’s, alcohol or marijuana for at least
2 days after the abortion. They may increase the bleeding.
Your next menstrual period should come
within 4-6 weeks. It may be different from you normal period:
darker, or lighter, longer or shorter, or even a bit heavier.
Minor changes are not unusual.
Many women feel relief after the procedure,
while some women become a little depressed after the abortion.
This depression, or “low”, is due in part to the
change in hormone balance of a woman’s body. It usually
lasts a day or two. If you find yourself becoming
depressed, make an appointment to talk to a Planned Parenthood
counsellor or someone else who supports you.
- If you have discharge from your breasts,
drink less for a few days and wear a tight bra.
- Birth control should be used if having
intercourse, even before the woman has her regular
period.
- She could begin taking birth control
pills in the evening of the day of her abortion.
Even if she is feeling well, it is
important to have a check-up by a doctor several
weeks after the abortion. Between two and six
weeks after the abortion, you can make an appointment with
your family doctor or at the Region of Waterloo Sexual
Health Clinic at 519-883-2267.
In order to reduce the chances
of infection, for 2 weeks after the abortion
(and until the bleeding has stopped):
- Do not use tampons - use sanitary
pads instead
- Do not have sexual
intercourse
- Do not douche
- Do not take a bath - shower
instead
- Do not swim
Phone your doctor or contact a hospital
if you experience any of the following symptoms:
- A fever (over 38 E C or 100 E F) or chills
- Burning sensation when you urinate
- Sharp, shooting cramps
- Severe or persistent pain
- Smelly or itchy vaginal discharge
- Blood clots from the woman’s
vagina
- Heavy bleeding (enough to soak a pad
every 2 hours)
These may be signs of an
infection.
The chance of complications depends on
many factors, the most important of which is how far along
the pregnancy is. From 7 weeks on, the earlier the abortion
is completed, the safer it is. Most women who have abortions
(90%) are in their first trimester (less than 13 weeks). Of
these women, 97% have no complications or
any post-abortion complaints; 2.5% have minor complications
that can be handled at the doctor’s office or clinic;
less than 0.5% requires some additional surgical procedure
and/or hospitalization. Other factors that affect the possibility
of complications include the skill of the doctor, kind of
anaesthetic used, the method of abortion used and the
woman’s overall health.
- Blood clots accumulating in the
uterus, requiring another suction
- Infections (particularly if the post-operative
care instructions are not followed)
- A tear in the cervix which may be repaired
with stitches
- Perforation of the wall of the uterus
and/or other organs, which may heal themselves or may require
surgical repair, or rarely a hysterectomy
- Abortion that is not complete or that
does not end the pregnancy, both of which require the procedure
to be repeated
- Excessive bleeding due to failure of the
uterus to contract, which may require a blood transfusion.
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