Research shows that many pregnant teens, especially those in middle adolescence, mature quickly throughout their pregnancy and are able to make good decisions for themselves and their child.  Adolescents who do best with unintended pregnancies have the help and support of all of the adults in their lives.  Here are some tips for providing support to a teen facing an unplanned/unintended pregnancy:

▶       Brainstorming sessions with teens throughout their pregnancies to identify their ongoing social support network can help them look toward the future.

▶       Helping teens practice how to handle difficult situations that arise during the pregnancy and beyond can be accomplished through role-playing that allows the teen to rehearse what he/she will say and do if and when a particular situation arises.

▶       Anticipatory guidance is a technique to help the teen identify future issues that will need to be addressed, and can help him/her develop a future plan that makes sense in his/her life.

▶       Because adolescents are experiencing a time of great change that is heightened by the crisis of an unintended pregnancy, they may need information to be repeated and presented in a number of different ways.

▶       Treating teens with dignity and respect and listening non-judgmentally will be most helpful. Choosing matching language can be helpful, though not to the extreme that it is no longer genuine. We can usually tell when someone is trying too hard to be cool.