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Pregnancy options counseling is a form of psychological counseling that provides information and support regarding pregnancy, often unwanted pregnancy. This type of counseling assists the pregnant woman who is considering choices regarding the continuation of her pregnancy. In it, the counselor impartially presents the patient with her options that usually include: continuing the pregnancy, either through parenting herself or making an adoption plan, and abortion. Ideally, the counselor does not affect the decision of the patient. |
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Pregnancy options counselors should know local and national laws governing woman's pregnancy choices, especially those concerning adolescents and their rights to make such decisions. They should provide medically accurate and factual information on prenatal care, adoption and abortion. Often they provide their patients with the names of nearby hospitals and clinics and with contact numbers for help in case of emotional distress. |
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Abortion & Mental Health |
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The relationship between induced abortion and mental health is an area of political controversy. Major medical bodies have found that women who have had a single first-trimester induced abortion are no more likely to have mental-health problems than those carrying pregnancy to term, but the evidence was unclear for other cases such as repeat abortions and late termination of pregnancy due to foetal abnormality. Pre-existing factors in a woman's life, such as emotional attachment to the pregnancy, lack of social support, pre-existing psychiatric illness, and conservative views on abortion increase the likelihood of experiencing negative feelings after an abortion. Although studies have correlated negative mental health outcomes with more than one abortion, such outcomes could be caused by the same circumstances that caused the multiple abortions in the first place. |
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