1. You have options. You have the option to parent your child, to place your child for adoption, or to terminate the pregnancy. 2. You are not alone. There are approximately 3 million unplanned pregnancies in the U.S. each year, of those approximately 750,000 are women aged 15-19. 3. You, and you alone, need to decide which option is best for you. While it's healthy to seek advice from people you respect (parents, friends, counselors), you need to determine which option is the best option for you and your baby. 4. Resist being forced into a decision. Surround yourself with people you trust who will honor this. 5. Adoption is a caring and responsible response to an unplanned pregnancy. Adoption is an act of love toward yourself, toward a couple that wants a child but cannot conceive, but, most of all, it's an act of love toward your unborn child. 6. Adoption has changed! However, not all adoptions are the same, and not all adoption professionals will treat you with the respect and dignity that you deserve! 7. Open adoption enables you to decide who will raise your child and enables you to continue to have contact with your child over the years, if you choose. 8. "…in fully open adoptions, the birthparents and adopting parents select each other. Rather than outsiders controlling the process, the adopting parents and the biological parents are the ones who have power over the critical decisions in their adoption." Bruce Rappaport, PhD, IAC's founding executive director, in The Open Adoption Book, © 1992, Wiley Publishing 9. IAC has been transforming lives through open adoption by serving the best interests of birthparents, children, and adoptive parents for over 25 years. 10. IAC is the oldest and the most trusted fully open adoption agency in the U.S. having placed nearly 4,000 newborns since it was founded in 1982. – all birthparent services are free at IAC –
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