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Pregnancy choices

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To keep or terminate

5 replies

J5285 · 26/12/2020 17:12

(Sorry this was so long, hopefully someone has time to read).. So I hate that I even am writing this , but talking to my therapist , my partner, my family and my friends hasn’t helped me and maybe it’s because this decision is solely based on me but I figured I could use some external advice and experiences. Please try not to judge me although frankly .. I’m judging myself. I am currently 17 weeks pregnant and only have a few more weeks before the decision to terminate is no longer even a question. My partner and I began dating in an unconventional way. We were high school friends / sweethearts who lost contact for 9 years do to me being in a long term relationship. During a break from my previous relationship we reconnected and although he had a gifrlfriend we found ourselves falling for each other. He and his girlfriend didn’t last but I found myself bouncing back and forth between him and my long term boyfriend for 2 years before finally admitting my truths, moving out of my house that I loved with my boyfriend and temporarily moving in with my partner while I figured things out. 4 months into our relationship and I find out I’m pregnant. I never really asked him how he felt or wether we should keep the baby because I thought we were on the same page , which i now regret not doing. You see in the 4 months prior he had multiple conversations with me stating he wanted kids with me, when I complained about how the birth control made me feel he told me “You can get off the BC if you want because I wouldn’t mind having kids with you” he had once even asked are we trying because we were having unprotected sex and I stated “No I’m not trying but if it happens it happens and I’m not having an abortion”. I already had 1 abortion while I was cheating with him and my ex and it tore me to shreds, I never pictured myself doing that and because I had to hide it from my ex it put me in a deep depressive state and that’s when I started seeing a therapist. I honestly don’t know how I would handle a second abortion. The weeks keep flying by and in the beginning he barely spoke about it and only said a few times “I’m sorry if I’m acting more testy lately , I’m just stressed and I’m not ready for a kid yet”. I honestly took “I’m not ready” as in he just needed time and would take the steps to become ready .. not that he expected me to terminate. Until my 12th week where he exploded and told me “I didn’t care about him or his feelings and I just move for me and what I want. That we aren’t financially ready for a child or know enough about each other to bring a child into this world and we’re going to be stuck and struggling.” I do agree that I wish it happened later, i don’t even have a good relationship with his mother yet. But had I known he just wanted to have daily unprotected sex and leave it up to me to abort every time we became pregnant I wouldn’t have been having sex with him to begin with. I do agree that i wish i was more financially stable.. but I have a career, a rent a 4 bedroom house with a backyard and have enough space to raise a child, my mother was temporarily living with me until she retired in a year so really she’s offered to retire early and help with child care and her living with me will make things a lot easier. I may not have it all but I still feel like together we make enough to support this child and still reach our goals. My mother and sister have offered to watch the baby and even give me months off in the summer if I needed it to still be able to vacation and take breaks. I’m 27 years old and he’s 29, we’re not young children. But we do move freely, we are very spur of the moment and just in any random weekend will decide to go to Miami or on vacation. I’m sad to think that we may be tied down more and not have the opportunities to really enjoy each other before a child. I want to still adventure with him. And even tho a part of me thinks we can still do that just more planned out, I’m scared he won’t stay because this isn’t what he wants and he made it clear. He’ll probably get a childless girlfriend to adventure with spur of the moment while I’m stuck at home raising our son. I also wish I had more money saved up, i don’t have much to my name and right now my bills are high.. I still think I can make it work but I know it’s not ideal. With him I think we could save up for a house but without him, i feel like I will get stuck financially and that worries me. I battle in my head .. “is he right ? Is the timing just really bad? But how could I kill my own child that I’ve already started planning for? That my family is excited for? Just to have a baby a few years later? How is that fair? Why can’t we just figure life out with a baby together? But is it fair to bring a child into this world when the father doesn’t want him and I know financially I’m not ready just because he’s in there already? But how could I terminate so late in the pregnancy? What will I tell everyone? How will I feel? Will I dread looking at my friends children that would be his age? Will I dread June 6th every year? Will I resent my partner for not supporting me? If we don’t work anyway will I regret the termination more? Or will having this baby and having to do it alone cause me to resent my child or regret the decision to have him?” I know people say “yea u may have moments of thinking you should have waited but then you’ll look at your son and it’ll be worth it” .. I know that that’s true but right now I do have the choice to wait .. before
I have to silently regret the decision later. I dont know.. I feel shitty because if I had his support I probably wouldn’t be worried about half these things, but then I feel like less than a woman to even be so dependent on a man, like women raise children alone all the time. This whole thing has even given me suicidal thoughts which makes me feel like I’m not ready even more. I feel it’s a no win situation, either way I lose in someway. I’ve never been great at making decisions and here I face the hardest decision I have to make. I wish I spoke to him in the beginning, I wish I didn’t tell people so quick. But i can’t take those things back I can only move forward..

OP posts:
LouiseTrees · 26/12/2020 17:59

Well first off have you asked him whether he will wear a condom going forward. Birth control is not 100 percent the woman’s responsibility and unless you are about to tell me one of you has a latex allergy then I have no respect for him. That aside, what happens if it doesn’t work out with the partner anyway and you have fertility problems at a later juncture. Will you always hate him?

anniebu · 26/12/2020 18:07

It sounds like you don't want to terminate and your partner is immature. Most of your post is how you think you can raise this child alright in your circumstances. Go ahead then! Your partner just does not get it, abortion is not contraception. Are you to put your health and fertility on the line, for him to not have to wear a condom, really? What if next time he will say he's ready for a child only to back out again once you are pregnant? Will you continue believing him and do repeat abortions? I say do what is best for yourself, and your partner has to grow up. Say you made your decision and if he doesn't like it he can clear off.

Floopyandtired · 26/12/2020 18:10

I’m sorry you find yourself in this situation. It sounds to me as if you’re not really ready to give up your “old” life either. Ask yourself, if you were 7 weeks along not 17, would you have an abortion? If the answer is yes, there’s your answer.

Having months off being a parent over the summer so you can go on holiday? It doesn’t work like that. Being a parent is a lifetime commitment, a full time job and then some. FWIW I am as far as long as you in my pregnancy, I’m due on the 4th of June, and while I couldn’t terminate at this stage I have had 2 previous abortions. The second was far less traumatic from the first as I knew what to expect. I think if you do decide to continue with the pregnancy you need to accept you will be doing it alone. You say you have family who will help, but talk is cheap and once it becomes a reality you may find you have less support than you’ve been promised.

Whatever you decide keep seeing your therapist and be kind to yourself. Also, even if you do terminate, leave that man! You can do so much better. Take care x

FestiveStuffing · 26/12/2020 18:14

I very rarely give concrete advice on this, but I think you should keep it unless there's a medical reason to terminate. Sounds like you've thought about it and are able to meet its needs and that you don't want to terminate, so don't terminate. He doesn't sound like a good father, and you should expect him to not be in the picture (hopefully you'll be surprised, but always best to expect the worst), but many, many kids have disinterested fathers and happy lives. The relationship is doomed either way.

ItsIgginningtolookalotlikeXmas · 26/12/2020 18:20

This man doesn't sound any good, I would take him out of the equation entirely.
You struggled with your last termination which I assume was much earlier. I think you will resent your partner if you terminate, and he might resent you if you don't. But I don't think his wishes matter that much, he should never have talked to you about planning a baby when it was just empty air.

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