What ever your situation maybe you need to take a

OK now that you have taken a deep breath you need to think about what you want to do next. If you’re planning to have a baby and this is the best news in the world skip a few paragraphs. If this is bad news and not planned here are a few tips and options for you to consider.

Can I take care of a baby? Can I afford to have a baby? What if I'm too young or too old? I’m single and didn't plan this? Am I mature enough? Am I ready for a lifestyle change?

These are just some of the questions you may ask your self and it's good to think about what life will be like with a baby.

So you’re pregnant but it wasn’t planned, you can keep the baby and do your best at being a mum and YES you can do it. There are plenty of support groups like minti to help you through. You may opt for an abortion and if you do feel this is best for you PLEASE seek counseling. And then there is adoption. If you don’t feel you can take care of a baby at this point in your life remember there are a lot of people who want children and can take care of them but can't conceive. Again with adoption I suggest seeking counseling before coming to this decision.

Being a mum changes your life; you are no longer your top priority and expect to lose a lot of sleep. I read somewhere that parents to a new born can lose anywhere up to 450 hours of sleep in the first year alone! Babies need only a few things to survive, LOVE, FOOD, NAPPIES, BASIC NEEDS, you don't need to be rich to have a baby, and they don't care if their things aren't brand name designer things. All they really want is your love and to be fed and cleaned.

It will affect your life in every way, your friendships and relationships will change be it for better or worse, and I found that all my friends without kids stopped seeing me as much as I couldn't go out with them all the time. You may need to find friends with kids through mothers groups or play groups.

You need to think about what support you have be it a partner, your parents, other family, friends or social workers. There are many support services offered by most governments.

If after considering all the factors of being a mum and you still don’t think you can not do it call your local health center or doctor to organise counseling for either abortion or adoption. Try not to leave making this decision too late because as any mum will tell you the further you get with your pregnancy the harder it is to make choices.

And if you want to have the baby then CONGRATS! You’re going to be a mum with in the next 9 months depending on how far along you are!

First things first, share the good news with your support partner if you want to, enjoy the moment! Then you need to think about what sort of care you will be having during your pregnancy.

There are a few options, you can see your local doctor for your pregnancy care, you can see a midwife with a private midwife service or thru the hospital or you may see a gyno for your pregnancy care. It’s suggested to get antenatal care by 12 weeks so that you can have all the tests required to ensure a safe and healthy pregnancy and baby.

Now that you are pregnant there are a few things you need to steer clear of, Alcohol, Smoking, Drugs including some medicines and full impact sport / exercise unless advidsed otherwise by a medical practitioner.

There are also foods you should steer clear

Soft or semi soft cheese
• Raw seafood
• unpasterised dairy products
• premade salads
• pate
• soft serve ice cream
• processed cold meat
• cold cooked chicken
• undercooked meat
• cold precooked seafood like prawns

You also can not have an X-ray done whilst pregnant. If you are ever worried about something don’t hesitate to seek advice from a doctor or midwife.

So basically, now that you’re pregnant you need to see your doctor / midwife regularly for antenatal care and take care of your self and stay healthy.

A happy mum means a happy bub ;)

Written By Ravenheart 09