First, find out if you ARE pregnant. You do need to know as soon as possible whether or not you are pregnant.

If your period is late, and you think you might be pregnant, have a pregnancy test as soon as possible. You can get a pregnancy test from...

• A Brook Centre: test is free; immediate result.
  
• A school nurse: can give advice and support and, in some areas, can offer a free pregnancy test.
  
• A GP (family doctor): test is free; but not always available. It is worth phoning the doctor in advance to find out whether they give on the spot results, or whether you will have to wait.
  
• A family planing clinic: may be available free. Always ask to see a doctor or nurse urgently. Immediate results with support and advice.
  
• A pharmacist: the pharmacist can do the test for you, and will make a charge. Ask how long the result will take.
  
• A home testing kit: you can buy a home pregnancy testing kit from a pharmacy and do the test yourself.
  
• A GUM clinic (genito urinary medicine or 'special' clinic): will often offer a free test; immediate result.
  
  The earlier you know whether or not you are pregnant, the more options you will have.

If your pregnancy test is positive, and you ARE pregnant, you have three choices. You may decide:

• That you will continue with the pregnancy and keep the baby
• That you will request an abortion to end the pregnancy
• That you will continue with the pregnancy and have the baby adopted

If your pregnancy test is negative you will need another test the following week if your period has still not started. If you are NOT pregnant, ask a doctor about a reliable method of contraception to avoid future worries.

If you choose to keep the baby, what happens next?

• A doctor will make arrangements for the baby's birth and explain how to take care of your own health while you are pregnant. It is important to go for antenatal care regularly from the start of your pregnancy, for your own health, and that of your baby.
  
  
• Having a baby in the future may have been part of the plans which you and your partner had discussed. Even though it has happened earlier than planned, you may both be thrilled. If so, now is the time to plan how you will set up home together and how you will care for the baby.
  
  
• If you have to bring the baby up on your own, social services can put you in touch with support and help. They can give you advice on benefits, housing and other sources of support, including special mother and baby units. In some areas SureStart Plus provides a one-stop advice and guidance service to pregnant teenagers.
  
  
• The Child Support Agency will want to know the name of the child's father to make sure that he contributes to the cost of the child's care.
  
  
• If you are still at school, it may be possible for you to continue your education. Many further education colleges offer mothers a crèche.

If I request an abortion, what happens next?

• If you decide to have an abortion, you need to arrange this as soon as possible.
  
  
• You will need to see a doctor who will examine you to confirm the pregnancy and work out how many weeks pregnant you are. The doctor will discuss with you the effect having the baby would have on your life. If the doctor agrees that your reasons for needing an abortion are within the law, he or she will sign a certificate and send you to another doctor for a second opinion.
  
  
• An abortion can be carried out as soon as a woman knows she is pregnant. Abortion up to about 12 weeks of pregnancy is a relatively simple and safe procedure but after this it becomes more complicated. Also doctors may be less willing to carry out an abortion after 12 weeks and only in exceptional circumstances after 24 weeks of pregnancy.
  
  
• A girl under 16 may give her own consent for an abortion, if she can show she understands what is involved, although the doctor will encourage her to involve her parents. In practice, many doctors will not give an abortion to a girl under 16 without the consent of her parents.

If I choose to have the baby adopted, what happens next?

• If you decide to opt for adoption, you will need to arrange antenatal care as soon as possible, for your own health and for the health of the baby.
  
  
• If your baby is adopted then the adopted parents legally become the parents of the child. You cannot change your mind and have the child back later.
  
  
• Social Services can give you advice on benefits and other help or support you may need during your pregnancy. They can also put you in touch with an adoption agency.
  
  
• If you have strong feelings about the sort of family you would like to adopt your child, discuss these with the adoption agency. Wherever possible, they will try to meet your wishes.
  
  
• If you wish, you can involve the father, but you do not have to tell anyone who the fathers is, if you don't want to.
  
  
• If you decide, after all, to keep the baby once it has been born, there will be no pressure on you to give it up for adoption.
  
  
• The adoption becomes legal when the child has been with its adoptive parents for a while and the adoption has been agreed in court. You will be asked to sign a document agreeing to the adoption officially. This can be as soon as a few weeks after the birth or later, if you need more time to decide.
  
  
• Young people who have been adopted have the right to seek their birth parents when they are 18 years old. You may want to make plans for this possibility.