If you're a pregnant teen

If you're a pregnant teen, you're not alone. About half a million adolescents give birth each year. Most teens who have babies didn't plan on becoming pregnant. You may have been surprised when you found out or even hoped it wasn't true. You may have been terrified to tell your parents. You may have worried how this might affect your relationships with your family, friends, and the baby's father. Sharing the news of your pregnancy can be one of the most difficult conversations to have.
Whether you feel confused, worried, scared, or excited, you'll want to know how your life will change, what you can do to have a healthy baby, and what it takes to become a good parent.
The most important thing you can do is to take good care of yourself so that you and your baby will be healthy. Girls who get the proper care and make the right choices have a very good chance of having healthy babies.
Prenatal CareIf you are pregnant, you need to see a doctor as soon as possible to begin getting prenatal care (medical care during pregnancy). The sooner you start to get medical care, the better your chances that you and your baby will be healthy.
If you can't afford to go to a doctor or clinic for prenatal care, there are social service organizations that can help you. Ask your parent, school counselor, or another trusted adult to help you locate resources in your community.
During your first visit, your doctor will ask you lots of questions including the date of your last period. This is so he or she can estimate how long you have been pregnant and your due date. Doctors measure pregnancies in weeks. It's important to remember that your due date is only an estimate: Most babies are born between 38 and 42 weeks after the first day of a woman's last menstrual period, or 36 to 38 weeks after conception (when the sperm fertilizes the egg). Only a small percentage of women actually deliver exactly on their due dates.
A pregnancy is divided into three phases, or trimesters. The first trimester is from conception to the end of week 13. The second trimester is from week 14 to the end of week 26. The third trimester is from week 27 to the end of the pregnancy.
The doctor will examine you and perform a pelvic exam. He or she will also perform blood tests, a urine test, and tests for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including a test for HIV, which is on the rise in teens. (Some STDs can cause serious medical problems in newborns, so it's important to get treatment to protect the baby.)
The doctor will explain the types of physical and emotional changes you can expect during pregnancy. He or she will also teach you to how to recognize the signs of possible problems during pregnancy (called complications). This is especially important because teens are more at risk for certain complications such as anemia, high blood pressure, miscarriage, and delivering a baby earlier than usual (called premature delivery).
Your doctor will want you to start taking prenatal vitamins that contain the minerals folic acid, calcium, and iron as soon as possible. The vitamins may be prescribed by the doctor, or he or she may recommend a brand that you can buy over the counter. These vitamins and minerals help ensure the baby's and mother's health as well as prevent some types of birth defects.