1. Parenting. Deciding to parent the child instead of aborting it is a life-giving and wise choice. Women who choose to have a live-birth (give birth to a live baby) rather than abortion also have a better mental health prognosis then women to opt for abortion. Thankfully in Australia there is a lot of free government and private agency support for pregnant women and mothers of infants, although we would like to see more support. These supports extend to financial, housing and psychological supports. They also extend to legal protection for women who feel they are in danger. It’s important to know millions of women around the world regret their abortion, but almost no woman ever regrets having their child.

2. Adoption. Adoption is when a woman gives birth to her child and then, if in Australia, gives it up for adoption to the state or territory government she lives in. That state or territory government will then give the baby to a carefully screened, loving family seeking a child. That baby will then become part of that family and even take on the family name. It is an excellent decision for women who feel they are unable to care for their child, even after considering all the supports available.

3. A “Parenting Order”. A Parenting Order in Queensland effectively allows the mother of the child to choose the parents of her child. In most cases it is the mother of the child choosing a member of her own family as the primary career of the child, but it is not always a relative. One of the benefits of this is the natural mother can arrange access to visit the child with the new parents of the child, and the child can keep it’s birth name (it doesn’t take the surname of the “parenting order” parents).

4. Co-parenting. You may choose to co-parent your child with the child’s father, even if you are no longer a couple. This can be deeply satisfying and can make for a happy life for the child.

There is a lot of free support available for any of these options. Please, if you find yourself in a difficult situation, please know that there is loving, non-judgemental help available for you.  

Here are some useful numbers whether you are considering abortion or one of the alternatives to abortion: