You are in the bathroom, staring at the double line of a positive pregnancy test. Maybe this was planned, or maybe it is a complete surprise to you. Emotions, thoughts, possibilities, and maybe some fears fly through your head. Questions start to pop up:
“Who do I tell?”
“Where do I go?”
“What is my next step?”
If you have recently had a positive pregnancy test, and you are experiencing a bit of this internal chaos, here are 3 things that Life’s Choices needs you to know.
#1 It Is Important to Have Proper Confirmation
There have been countless times when a woman has come to our office thinking that she was pregnant and that ended up being false. It does happen sometimes that a pregnancy test can give inaccurate results. In addition, there are often pregnancies that begin and end naturally in a short span of time. This is why having proper confirmation of a pregnancy is important.
At our Kutztown location, Life’s Choices offers free pregnancy testing and free confirmation ultrasounds, which can greatly help a woman who thinks she is pregnant. An ultrasound is able to give a wealth of good information about a woman’s pregnancy. There are many questions that a pregnancy test alone cannot answer, but that an ultrasound can! Is the pregnancy viable? How far along is the pregnancy? Is the pregnancy ectopic or normal? All of these things can be determined by a confirmation ultrasound at Life’s Choices.
If you think you may be pregnant, consider calling our office today to set up a free appointment with us.
Call or Text 610.683.8000
#2 You Have Plenty of Time to Figure Things Out
Often, when people start to become stressed, they lose their sense of timing. Everything in the future suddenly becomes an issue to deal with in the present. When a woman sees that positive pregnancy test, the stress can quickly get out of control. What most women forget is that they have way more time than they realize.
It is okay if you don’t have everything figured out 20 minutes after your positive pregnancy test! It can feel like you need to rush to answer every question and have a perfect plan by the end of your day, but you have way more time than that.
Your options are open for longer than many women expect them to be. Remember to breathe and try to stay as calm and rational as possible. Try to talk things over with someone whose wisdom you trust. Give yourself some time to process and understand what could be happening. Not everything in your situation has to be decided right away. You do have time.
#3 Emotions Are Terrible Decision-Makers
As an organization staffed completely by women, we understand the power of emotions! They can be great indicators of how we are feeling, and can definitely help inform our decisions. But emotions by themselves are pretty terrible decision-makers. Think about how many emotions you have within an hour; our feelings are constantly changing!
In the human brain, logical thinking and emotions are represented by two separate sections. If we are letting our emotions do all of the decision-making, our logical part of our brain is left in the dust. A stressful or unexpected situation can easily awaken the emotional part of our brain. This is totally normal and perfectly fine, but can lead to some interesting things. Emotions are not good or bad in and of themselves, they just exist. It’s all about what power we give to our emotions that can lead to healthy or unhealthy choices.
If you are looking at a positive pregnancy test, we know that you probably have some big emotions happening. That’s okay. Acknowledge those feelings. A possible pregnancy is an emotional situation. But just remember that emotions are really bad at remaining calm and making rational decisions. Try to calm yourself down enough so that your logical brain can regain control before you make any quick decision regarding your pregnancy.
One last thing to remember is that if you have a positive pregnancy test, Life’s Choices is absolutely your first step. We have been offering pregnancy resources and information to women for over 35 years. No matter what emotions your feeling, or what options you are considering, we are here to help you. Our services and information is helpful to every woman who might be pregnant.