Accidental Pregnancy

Experts estimate that nearly 60 percent of all U.S. pregnancies--and 81 percent of pregnancies among adolescents--are unintended. Yet the topic of preventing these unintended pregnancies has long been treated gingerly because of personal sensitivities and public controversies, especially the angry debate over abortion. Additionally, child welfare advocates long have overlooked the connection between pregnancy planning and the improved well-being of families and communities that results when children are wanted. Now, current issues--health care and welfare reform, and the new international focus on population--are drawing attention to the consequences of unintended pregnancy. In this climate The Best Intentions offers a timely exploration of family planning issues from a distinguished panel of experts. This committee sheds much-needed light on the questions and controversies surrounding unintended pregnancy. The book offers specific recommendations to put the United States on par with other developed nations in terms of contraceptive attitudes and policies, and it considers the effectiveness of over 20 pregnancy prevention programs. The Best Intentions explores problematic definitions--"unintended" versus "unwanted" versus "mistimed"--and presents data on pregnancy rates and trends. The book also summarizes the health and social consequences of unintended pregnancies, for both men and women, and for the children they bear. Why does unintended pregnancy occur? In discussions of "reasons behind the rates," the book examines Americans' ambivalence about sexuality and the many other social, cultural, religious, and economic factors that affect our approach to contraception. The committee explores the complicated web of peer pressure, life aspirations, and notions of romance that shape an individual's decisions about sex, contraception, and pregnancy. And the book looks at such practical issues as the attitudes of doctors toward birth control and the place of contraception in both health insurance and "managed care." The Best Intentions offers frank discussion, synthesis of data, and policy recommendations on one of today's most sensitive social topics. This book will be important to policymakers, health and social service personnel, foundation executives, opinion leaders, researchers, and concerned individuals. May

Unplanned pregnancies happen to women in every season of life: the newly married, the never-married, the empty-nester, the teenager, the overworked mother, the career woman. Yet we rarely talk about how lonely and confusing this experience can be. In Surprise Child, Leslie Leyland Fields, who experienced two unplanned pregnancies in her forties, lyrically weaves her own story with the stories of other women who understand the isolation you face as expectations and plans are turned upside down to make room for a child. “Each year, more than three million women discover themselves pregnant–at a hard time, the wrong time, at a difficult place in their lives. I am one of those women.…” Together, these women walk with you month-by-month through the physical and emotional stages of pregnancy, voicing with startling honesty their own anxieties and struggles. Here you will find the companionship and hope you need to journey toward new life.

Two months ago Irena and Vincenzo spent a heady week together. Their connection was instant, deep, strong. Yet it could never last—she was destined to marry another. Now Irena is pregnant and alone. Vincenzo has never forgotten Irena. When he hears of her plight he takes control the only way he knows how—by offering marriage! Life in Vincenzo's Mediterranean palazzo seems idyllic—but Vincenzo is about to discover that the tiny baby inside Irena belongs to him….

Over half of all births to young adults in the United States now occur outside of marriage, and many are unplanned. The result is increased poverty and inequality for children. The left argues for more social support for unmarried parents; the right argues for a return to traditional marriage. In Generation Unbound, Isabel V. Sawhill offers a third approach: change "drifters" into "planners." In a well-written and accessible survey of the impact of family structure on child well-being, Sawhill contrasts "planners," who are delaying parenthood until after they marry, with "drifters," who are having unplanned children early and outside of marriage. These two distinct patterns are contributing to an emerging class divide and threatening social mobility in the United States. Sawhill draws on insights from the new field of behavioral economics, showing that it is possible, by changing the default, to move from a culture that accepts a high number of unplanned pregnancies to a culture in which adults only have children when they are ready to be a parent.

Chase: It's lonely at the top. I don't have much and I certainly never expected to become a father. Falling in love? I... I don't know. One night stands were commonplace until I met Sean. His passion for the betterment of my circus family's animals makes him a little stuffy, but he's got such gorgeous eyes. I can't let myself think that way. Next week I'll be in some other town, staring into the eyes of some other man. ...Won't I?Sean: Of all the ridiculous things to happen in my life, falling pregnant from a one-night stand was something even I wouldn't have guessed. I knew the risk. I took it. If nothing else, at least the baby will be raised in the lap of luxury--and he'll be taught compassion for the animals his father is so close to. Still, really? A trapeze artist? I.. should really try to find him. Just to tell him about the baby, you understand. It's not like I have the hots for him or anything.Honest.This 50,000 word book will thrill, chill and mystify you with scenes so hot

"Now with a new afterword by the author"--Back cover.

Explains why lawyers seeking gender progress from primary legal materials should start with the common law.

This book is written for all women who find themselves unexpectedly pregnant and want information and advice on the available options facing them. It explains what will be inolved if the woman decides on adoptions, abortion, or motherhood. It also discusses why unplanned pregnancies occur and what happens to a woman's body in early pregnancy. The whole book is brought to life iwth many extracts from interviews with women who have had unplanned pregnancies talking about their varied experiences and the choices they took.

Discusses the emotions, stresses, and adjustments connected with an unplanned teenage pregnancy.

I fell in love with the enemy… and got her pregnant. This could probably be the biggest mistake of my life. Except that I don’t regret any of it. Amanda is beautiful. She’s with me for who I am… Not for my big bank account. I can’t keep my hands off her gorgeous curves. And my lips off her soft skin. She’s all I want. The problem? Her father who’s my biggest rival in business. He’ll do everything in his power to destroy what we have. But there’s one thing he has no control over. The baby that’s growing inside Amanda. I’m ready to risk it all… if that’s what it takes to claim my family.