# Females, if you found out you were pregnant right now, what would you do? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 1, 2005, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-if-you-found-out-you-were-pregnant-right-now-what-would-you-do/310621 "2005-07-01T01:38:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![dare\_devil007](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@dare\_devil007](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dare_devil007)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2005, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-if-you-found-out-you-were-pregnant-right-now-what-would-you-do/310621/101 "2005-07-02T21:32:16Z")
First, I’d have some major explaning to do to my family and prepare myself for their reactions. Then, it would be a huge fight between them and me. They’d probably want me to abort it, but I’d probably want to have it and give it up for adoption. Then, if/when I get married, I’d try to look for my child and raise him/her with my husband. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2005, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-if-you-found-out-you-were-pregnant-right-now-what-would-you-do/310621/102 "2005-07-02T22:10:28Z")
> [@dare\_devil007\_](#): > > I’d probably want to have it and give it up for adoption. Then, if/when I get married, I’d try to look for my child and raise him/her with my husband. I know that this thread is all speculation, but you may want to re-think this: removing a child from the only parents he/she has ever known only serves your interests, not the child’s. Besides, I don’t believe that you could legally do what you propose. If you think there’s any chance that you would ever want to raise the child, I’d advise you to consider ways to keep it right off the bat. ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-if-you-found-out-you-were-pregnant-right-now-what-would-you-do/310621/103 "2005-07-03T01:37:59Z")
I’d tell my husband, wait for him to get over his shock (we’re going to be trying in two months anyway, but he has this weird hang-up about waiting until EXACTLY our first anniversary), then go call EVERYONE I KNOW and start yelling that his boys can swim. Then I’d go buy maternity clothes. I know I wouldn’t need them for a few months, but I want to buy maternity clothes SO BADLY. E. ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-if-you-found-out-you-were-pregnant-right-now-what-would-you-do/310621/104 "2005-07-03T01:49:38Z")
Oh, and I’d also get really, really pissed off at my body right now, regardless of being happy about the baby, because it’s been screwing with me for the past three months - since going off the Pill, I’ve yet to have a period. So with my charting, I assumed that I hadn’t ovulated, and we decided to ditch the BC once this past week. Stupid move, as I had a thermal shift the day after, and now it seems as if my body is acting as though I ovulated. So there’s actually somewhat of a chance that I’m pregnant now - or his guys are finding my egg and getting me pregnant at this moment. I guess I’ll know more in about two weeks. I’d rather wait until September, but hey, if I am, I am. Hey, my parents will be grandparents twice within six months if I am. E. ---
**Author:** ![Tenar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@Tenar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenar)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-if-you-found-out-you-were-pregnant-right-now-what-would-you-do/310621/105 "2005-07-03T02:45:12Z")
Sorry, **dare\_dev** il007, but I have to agree with the people who say you aren’t thinking too clearly. You either keep the baby and raise it, put it up for adoption, or abort it. What you suggest would be both a legal and an emotional nightmare for all involved. (I’m not trying to be harsh on you. I see by your profile that you are very young, but the first tenet of motherhood should be “the child comes first,” which doesn’t seem to work with the scenario you envision. If the child’s well being **can’t** come first, than an abortion is the way to go.) Anyhoo… I wish I hadn’t been mildly buzzed when I came across this thread. I have been, for about the third or fourth time, reconciling myself to the fact that I will never have a child, so this is kind of a sensitive area right now. In answer to the OP, I would walk (well, waddle quickly), to a high-risk OB-GYN specialist and start asking tough questions. I am 44, morbidly obese, borderline diabetic, have lymphedema and a hereditary emotional disorder (bipolar). If there were any reasonable chance that I and the fetus would survive pregnancy, I would probably keep the fetus. I put it this way because I am not yet sure if I would keep the resulting BABY or offer it for adoption to a couple I know. It would probably be best for the baby if I gave it to them, as I can be quite impulsive and have an explosive temper sometimes. Ultimately, I think I would give it it J and C with the proviso that it be an “open” adoption, so the child could know who I am. Much though I want to raise a baby myself, it would probably be a major disaster. Sigh. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-if-you-found-out-you-were-pregnant-right-now-what-would-you-do/310621/106 "2005-07-03T04:46:56Z")
Abortion. And I don’t feel I need to “justify” it as a few comments in this thread have mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-if-you-found-out-you-were-pregnant-right-now-what-would-you-do/310621/107 "2005-07-03T05:06:48Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Abortion. > > And I don’t feel I need to “justify” it as a few comments in this thread have mentioned. Do you mean that you think other people in this thread have been justifying their abortion choice? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-if-you-found-out-you-were-pregnant-right-now-what-would-you-do/310621/108 "2005-07-03T05:27:53Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > Do you mean that you think other people in this thread have been justifying their abortion choice? No. Quite a few comments have been people saying that they can no longer justify having an abortion. ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-if-you-found-out-you-were-pregnant-right-now-what-would-you-do/310621/109 "2005-07-03T12:29:20Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > No. Quite a few comments have been people saying that they can no longer justify having an abortion. I think I was one of those who said I could not ‘justify’ it any more. Just to clarify; I am not saying that I had changed my position on abortion as a whole - definately pro choice - or that someone should have to justify their decision to anyone else. Simply for me, the reasons why as a younger person I would have had an abortion no longer exist for me, which means I would make different decision now - for me, an abortion would no longer be justified based on my moral beliefs (i.e. I want kids and I could happily raise them now). ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-if-you-found-out-you-were-pregnant-right-now-what-would-you-do/310621/110 "2005-07-03T13:44:46Z")
I would be forced to abort; after my last, and third, C-section deliver, my OB told me that if I got pregnant again, I’d be very high risk for uterine rupture. I think I might still take that chance, except that I still have children who are very dependent on me. Also, I’m gettin’ old (43); also, as much as I love the children I have, I really, really, really don’t want more. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-if-you-found-out-you-were-pregnant-right-now-what-would-you-do/310621/111 "2005-07-03T14:09:03Z")
> [@Girl From Mars](#): > > I think I was one of those who said I could not ‘justify’ it any more. Just to clarify; I am not saying that I had changed my position on abortion as a whole - definately pro choice - or that someone should have to justify their decision to anyone else. Thanks for that clarification, **Girl From Mars**. I shouldn’t have been posting so late and grumpy in any case and I apologize for it. ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-if-you-found-out-you-were-pregnant-right-now-what-would-you-do/310621/112 "2005-07-03T15:31:37Z")
I’d abort, no doubt. ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-if-you-found-out-you-were-pregnant-right-now-what-would-you-do/310621/113 "2005-07-03T16:11:54Z")
Abort. Neither DH nor I want kids, ever. ---
**Author:** ![sj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@sj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sj2)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-if-you-found-out-you-were-pregnant-right-now-what-would-you-do/310621/114 "2005-07-03T18:43:41Z")
> [@Avarie537](#): > > Well, considering that we’re going to start trying on Saturday (“we shall begin Operation Bobard Uterus,” as my husband says), I’d be fine. I’m going off The Pill on July 5th…wanna race?!? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![cherry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cherry)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-if-you-found-out-you-were-pregnant-right-now-what-would-you-do/310621/115 "2005-07-03T21:21:22Z")
I’d be very excited and so would hubby as we are trying. So it would be no biggie, but happy news. ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-if-you-found-out-you-were-pregnant-right-now-what-would-you-do/310621/116 "2005-07-03T21:32:32Z")
Slight hijack, but I am interested to know, of those who say they never want to have kids ever (especially for those with partners who have made the same call) have you considered a permanent solution (i.e. sterilisation of you or partner)? ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-if-you-found-out-you-were-pregnant-right-now-what-would-you-do/310621/117 "2005-07-03T22:17:13Z")
> [@Girl From Mars](#): > > Slight hijack, but I am interested to know, of those who say they never want to have kids ever (especially for those with partners who have made the same call) have you considered a permanent solution (i.e. sterilisation of you or partner)? It’s my understanding that most doctors will not sterilize a childless, healthy woman in her early 30s – and that even if they would, insurance would not cover it. I don’t know if childless, healthy young men face the same resistance about vasectomies. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-if-you-found-out-you-were-pregnant-right-now-what-would-you-do/310621/118 "2005-07-03T22:44:11Z")
> [@Girl From Mars](#): > > Slight hijack, but I am interested to know, of those who say they never want to have kids ever (especially for those with partners who have made the same call) have you considered a permanent solution (i.e. sterilisation of you or partner)? Tubals are less effective than the bc I’m using now, plus they don’t have the handy side effects of Depo. I’d get a hysterectomy if it were possible. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-if-you-found-out-you-were-pregnant-right-now-what-would-you-do/310621/119 "2005-07-04T00:15:17Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > It’s my understanding that most doctors will not sterilize a childless, healthy woman in her early 30s – and that even if they would, insurance would not cover it. I don’t know if childless, healthy young men face the same resistance about vasectomies. Not in my parts of the world. As far as I know, a woman who has made her choice to have a tubal done would be done and covered by Alberta Health Care, as would a guy looking for a vasectomy. I mean, they’re not going to give them to 18 year olds who want to play around, but if I had gone in at 30 and said I wanted it done, I’m pretty sure it would have been done. As for the sterilization question, my husband and I are working on getting him snipped as we speak. There was a thread about it (The Reluctant Vasectomy) last week. ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-if-you-found-out-you-were-pregnant-right-now-what-would-you-do/310621/120 "2005-07-04T00:18:54Z")
> [@sj2](#): > > I’m going off The Pill on July 5th…wanna race?!? 😃 I’ve been off the patch since March. I wanted to get back to a regular cycle for a few months before trying to get pregnant. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-if-you-found-out-you-were-pregnant-right-now-what-would-you-do/310621.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-if-you-found-out-you-were-pregnant-right-now-what-would-you-do/310621.md?page=7)