If a girl took a pregnancy test, either at home or in a clinic, and it came back positive, she has a decision to make. A girl who is faced with an unplanned pregnancy has three choices:

1. She can choose to terminate the pregnancy by having an abortion.

2. She can choose to remain pregnant and arrange to place her baby with an adoption agency, so that the baby can be raised by loving parents with the financial means to do so.

3. She can choose to remain pregnant and become a parent.

The decision of what to do when faced with an unplanned pregnancy is often really hard to make, especially for a teenager. It can be helpful to talk with the person with whom you had sex, to see how she or he feels about the situation. It can also be helpful to talk with an adult in your life, whom you know well and trust, to help you sort through your three choices.

But in the end, a pregnant girl is the one who needs to make this decision for herself. No girl should keep or terminate a pregnancy based solely on what her parents or partner wants.

How does someone decide?

Every girl is different. Therefore, she needs to look at her own life circumstances to make the decision that is best for her.

Here are some questions a girl who is faced with an unplanned pregnancy can ask herself. The answers can help her determine which decision is best for her. It can help if she asks these questions of her partner, too. If you’re in this situation, have a piece of paper and pen, so you can write your answers down:

• What are my goals for the next year? Five years? Ten years?

• How will having a baby now affect these goals? What positive and negative effects do I think having a baby as a teen will have on my future?

• Where am I in school? Do I plan to finish high school and go to college? How would having a baby now help me do this? In what ways would having a baby make this difficult or impossible?

• What is my financial situation? Do I make enough money to pay for baby clothes, diapers, food, doctor’s appointments, day care, toys and more? Do I have a partner who has a job and can help me pay for these things?

• What kind of social support do I have in my life? Do I have a partner who intends to remain in the baby’s life and help out with more than money? Do I have parents, siblings and/or other family members who can help by baby-sitting, taking the baby to the doctor, doing my chores for me and more?

Just keep in mind, however, that regardless of what a girl chooses to do, she needs to make a decision as soon as possible. If she chooses to place her baby with an adoption agency or to become a parent, she needs to get to see a health care professional right away for prenatal visits. She also needs to begin the process of selecting an adoption agency. If she chooses to terminate the pregnancy by having an abortion, it should be done as early in the pregnancy as possible.

Some helpful Web sites for pregnant teens are www.momdadimpregnant.com and www.menandabortion.com. A great hotline for teens is called Backline at 1-888-493-0092.

Here are frequently asked questions about abortion, adoption and teen parenting.

If you need another hotline, check out our list here.