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Supporting Her Decision :
The man's role in unplanned pregnancy
Hearing
the news “I’m pregnant” can be a shock, a time of stress for the woman
and the man involved. Both women and men speak of being angry at
themselves or feeling disbelief that this could happen to them.
The reality is that unplanned pregnancy occurs frequently, it is
estimated that 200 000 Australian women experience an unplanned
pregnancy each year. No contraception is 100% effective - studies of
Australian and New Zealand women considering abortion have shown that up
to 66% of these women had been using contraception when they became
pregnant. Another research study showed that 23.8% of men had
experienced condom breakage and 18.1% had experienced condom slippage.
Also,
people make mistakes. For example, sometimes alcohol affects our
decisions, or maybe we act on impulse. We can also repeat our mistakes,
an American research study of men waiting at abortion clinics found that
25% of men had sat in the waiting room before.
Some women and couples find the decision straight forward. Some do not,
and sometimes making a decision about an unplanned pregnancy can be
stressful for everyone involved. Our website provides information for
the man involved in the pregnancy, including:
- the
man’s role in the decision making process,
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information on self care,
- the
formal and legal issues involved in the options, and
-
specific information about support if she chooses abortion.
Real
quotes, in italics, from men who have faced this situation are
included.
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