Pregnancy Options Counseling: Tips for Improving Your Skills

The health worker plays an important role in helping clients who are facing an unexpected pregnancy. Clients need accurate, unbiased information as well as sensitive attention and compassion in order to make the best decision.

Health workers who counsel clients on pregnancy options need special skills to help clients make an informed choice. It is important to get the training needed to build on those counseling skills. Here are basic tips to get you started.

Identify and clarify your values and beliefs.

Before counseling any clients on pregnancy options, it is especially important that you identify and understand your own values and beliefs. If you are not aware of your true feelings about the client’s situation, you might bias the counseling and unintentionally pressure the client to make a decision that might be right for you, but not for the client.

Values clarification will help you:

• Understand your own thoughts and feelings;
• Identify any biases you may have; and
• Learn how to keep those biases to yourself during a counseling session.

Use a client-centered approach to counseling.

How a pregnancy counseling session is put together can influence the way the client experiences the session and the impact of the counseling. These helpful steps can help you structure the session:

• Explore the client’s feelings.
• Help her consider all of her options.
• Identify social supports.
• Provide referrals and discuss timeframes.

Explore the client’s feelings about the test result.

Before getting a urine sample from a client for a pregnancy test:

• Ask that client what she wants the result to be.
• Allow the client to begin verbalizing her thoughts.

This will help you prepare for the client’s reaction to the test results.

When she receives the result:

• Ask her how she feels.
• Allow the client time to process and speak about her feelings.

In pregnancy counseling, how a client feels will drive her decision and what referrals you will need to provide.

Help her consider all of her options.

If your client is unsure of her plans, help her think through all her choices.

Be prepared to:

• Speak with ease about prenatal care, abortion, and adoption.
• Make sure the client knows what her options are.
• Address any misconceptions she may have about her options.
• Explore her feelings about each option.

Make sure you do not neglect or over-emphasize any single option.

For those women who receive negative test results, be prepared to:

• Provide family planning counseling for those who wish to prevent a pregnancy.
• Give information on preconception care for those who wish to plan a pregnancy.

Identify social supports.

Encourage clients to talk with a supportive person. She may be able to talk to a:

• Partner
• Family member
• Friend
• Spiritual leader.

If a client tells you she has no one she can talk to, you may need to provide more intensive follow up or referrals for counseling services.

Provide referrals and discuss a timetable.

Depending on the decision she makes, you will need to refer her for prenatal care, adoption, or abortion.

• Make sure referrals are up to date and accurate.
• Know where you are sending the client.
• Be able to give the client information on what to expect.

Emphasize that a decision does not need to be made on that day. However, let the client know that the decision to have an abortion is time-sensitive and discuss what this may mean for her.

Take advantage of training opportunities.

There are many more things you can do to make a counseling session meaningful. Training will help you and your fellow staff members become the support and resource that a client needs at this time in her life. Take advantage of training opportunities near you. If you live in California , check out these upcoming trainings:

• Workshops on this important topic are available at California Family Health Council or through the Center for Health Training.
• Under contract with Family PACT , CFHC will be offering 4 condensed half-day pregnancy options counseling workshops throughout the state in the Fall and Winter.
• CFHC will also be presenting a full two-day pregnancy counseling course in Los Angeles on October 23 & 30.

Whether you live in or outside California , CFHC can also present a workshop on-site in your work setting. To have workshops presented on-site, contact CFHC at training @cfhc.org or by calling 213-386-5614 ext. 4580