Who’s Influencing Your Pregnancy Decision?

January 1, 1970

Influencers. They are all around us. Do they empower us with confidence or do they make us feel like we don’t measure up?

Influencers, whether on social media or in real life, can affect our everyday decisions, from the clothes we wear, the purchases we make, and the lifestyles we choose, including feelings about an unexpected pregnancy.

Who is influencing your pregnancy decision?

Is your decision coming from your heart or do you have other forces influencing your choice?

If you feel stuck with an impossible choice to make, it may be helpful to identify all of your outside influences, and then compare them to your own feelings about your pregnancy.

Many women who were polled about their pregnancy decisions admitted that their relationship with the baby’s father was a powerful influence. If the quality of their relationship was poor, the more negatively, they viewed their pregnancies. Even in good relationships, if their partners felt that the timing was off, women felt a negative influence.

Some good questions to ask yourself to understand the power a major influencer on your pregnancy decision are:

Do I feel pressured or encouraged?

Are my feelings validated or dismissed?

Do his feelings about the pregnancy seem more important than mine?

Am I stressed I will freak him out if I discuss how I feel?

How much is his presence or absence affecting my choice?

The answers to these questions will help you to see how your relationship is influencing your decision, and how you may need to shift the conversation so your feelings are heard. It is often hard to express yourself freely when you are worried you will upset the listener. Sometimes it’s helpful to write your feelings down first before you share them with a person of influence in your life, whether it’s your intimate partner, parent, relative, or friend.

Ask yourself:

Do they respect my feelings and let me talk freely?

How much do I value their opinion compared to my own?

Do I feel confident or insecure when under their influence?

Consulting with people who care about you and who will listen to your concerns is a positive thing. We all need someone to talk to when we’re down or confused. Most experts recommend that when faced with a problem, it’s good to talk it over with someone you can trust as long as they are coming from a place of concern, not control.

When choosing your influencers, in regard to your unplanned pregnancy, remember, to expect concern, not control; encouragement, not judgment; hope, not despair.

Do your influencers inspire hope and confidence?

If your influencers stress you out or frustrate you, maybe it’s time to check in with yourself without any outside interference.

If all you want right now is a medical consultation and an opportunity to be heard without defending the complicated feelings you have about being pregnant, then Options is the place for you.

We’re safe, we’re free and we listen. You can come here to chill and just be you, while receiving free, early, no-hassle pregnancy services. Even if you can’t find the words to say, you can come here to be quiet and listen to yourself.

Now is the time to be kind to yourself and to welcome self-care.

Never underestimate the power of influence, but let that influence be kindness. You deserve nothing less.

Call: 856-795-0048

Text: 856-417-6944 or 856-230-0990