Accidental Pregnancy

Accidental pregnancy is something that hundreds of thousand of women experience every year. It can happen as a result of unprotected intercourse or a flaw in a contraceptive device or medication. In 2010, 750,000 teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19 became pregnant - affecting 7 percent of the women in that age group.

For many women between those ages, an accidental pregnancy can interfere with their future plans for adulthood. Maybe it involves starting a career or pursuing higher education. Being pregnant will change one's social life, personal habits and relationships. Many women are embracing the different options available to them and with fewer stigmas associated with them than in prior years. Abortion, adoption and raising the child as a single parent are all realities that many women make the decision between.

While there are no certain statistics on the number of women who choose to place the children born of unplanned pregnancies, the high birth rates are a sign that more women are seeing their pregnancies to term. With increased pregnancy rates, abortion rates also increase. However, birth rates are usually higher than abortion rates in most states.

With the adoption option, women can see the pregnancy to term and take the time to work independently or with an agency to find a couple she would like to see raise the child that she does not have the resources for. All options will have emotional consequences, but none probably as enriching for the child as adoption.