Lesson video

Hi, I'm Ms. Lowe, and I'm your RSHE teacher for today.

Thank you so much for choosing to complete your learning with me.

Today's lesson is all about unintended pregnancy, and because of some of the topics that we're gonna cover in today's lesson, it's important that while you complete your learning, you're accompanied by an adult.

So here's our outcome for today's lesson.

By the end of today's lesson you'll be able to describe the options and support available for unintended pregnancies.

Every RSHE lesson should begin with a set of ground rules.

This ensures that every conversation had in RSHE is respectful and we're all able to learn effectively.

So Laura is reminding us that in RSHE we should listen to others.

It's okay to disagree with each other, but we should listen properly before making assumptions or deciding how to respond.

And when disagreeing, we challenge the statement and not the person.

Andeep is reminding us to respect privacy.

We can discuss examples, but we don't use names or descriptions that can identify anyone, including ourselves.

Izzy is reminding us to choose a level of participation that suits us.

Everyone has the right to choose not to answer a question or to join in a discussion, but we never put anyone on the spot.

And finally, Jacob is reminding us that in RSHE there is no judgement.

We can explore beliefs and misunderstandings about a topic without the fear of being judged.

Now let's have a look at our keywords for today's lesson together.

Unintended pregnancy.

A pregnancy that was not planned or intended at the time of conception.

Abortion, determination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or foetus.

And finally, adoption.

When someone legally becomes the parent of a child who isn't biologically theirs, creating a new family bond that has all the same rights and responsibilities as birth parents.

And here's what we're gonna be learning about in today's lesson on unintended pregnancy choices.

We're gonna begin today by asking the question, "What are the options for an unintended pregnancy?" When we talk about an unintended pregnancy, what we mean is a pregnancy that wasn't planned or intended upon at conception.

When somebody experiences an unintended pregnancy, they have the right to make their own choice about what to do.

Nobody else has this choice or can make the choice for them.

That means not family, friends, or a partner can decide for them.

Now, in the UK we have laws to protect this right, and this ensures that the final decision made about an unintended pregnancy is made by the person who is pregnant, nobody else.

Now, Dr.

Elsie is giving us a bit more information about this here.

She says, "If someone finds out that they're pregnant unexpectedly, it can be stressful.

However, there are always options and support is available to help them make the right choice.

An abortion is not the only option when dealing with an unintended pregnancy because adoption and parenting are also options." Now we're gonna pause here and we're gonna check our understanding about what we've just learned.

True or false, there is only one option if someone has an unintended pregnancy.

Read that statement, pause the video, and have a think about your answer, and then we'll join back together in a moment to go through the correct one.

Really well done if you said "False." But why is this false? Well, there are lots of different options available such as parenting, adoption, or an abortion.

What we're gonna do now is we're gonna have a look at those three options in a bit more detail.

We said one option is parenting, and what this means is to continue the pregnancy and then raise the baby once it's been born.

Dr.

Elsie here is telling us that some people choose to become parents, and they may do this if they have family or partner support.

In order to support them even more there are parenting classes, there's financial help available, and lots of other forms of support if this is the option chosen.

Another option is adoption.

And this means placing the baby, once it's been born, with another family.

Dr.

Elsie here is telling us that some people choose this if they aren't ready to raise a child, but they still want to continue with the pregnancy.

It's a legal process and there is lots of support available through a UK adoption agency.

And the other option that we've mentioned is abortion.

And this is the process of ending the pregnancy through medical or surgical procedures.

Dr.

Elsie tells us here that abortion is a safe medical procedure which is regulated in the UK.

It can be done using a pill or a medical procedure, and there is lots of support available such as through your general practitioner, your GP.

Now we're gonna pause the video here and we're gonna check our understanding about what we've just learned.

I'd like for you to complete the below paragraph, filling in the missing words.

So pause the video, give yourself a couple of minutes to read through the paragraph, try and fill in those missing words, and we'll go through the correct answers together in a moment.

Really good work there.

Let's have a look at those correct answers.

There are multiple options for an unintended pregnancy.

For instance, adoption, which is the process of placing a baby with another family through a legal process.

Parenting is also an option and is when someone decides to continue the pregnancy and then raise the child.

Another option is an abortion, which is when a pregnancy is medically ended.

Well done if you managed to fill in all the missing words there in that paragraph.

Now we're gonna put our learning into practise.

So what I'd like for you to do is I'd like you to read the scenario below and answer the questions.

So the scenario says that Emma, who is 17, has just found out that she's pregnant.

She wasn't intending to get pregnant.

She feels nervous about telling her parents, and she's not sure what to do.

Based on that scenario, I'd like you to answer the following two questions.

Number one, what three options does Emma have? Number two, what are possible reasons why Emma might choose each option? So pause the video and have a good think about your answers.

Write them down, and then we'll go through together what you might have said.

Okay, great work.

Let's have a look at what you might have mentioned.

So your first question was, "What three options does Emma have in this scenario?" You might have said, number one is parenting, which means continuing the pregnancy and then raising the baby once it's been born.

B, adoption, placing the baby with another family through a legal process.

C, abortion, ending the pregnancy through a medical procedure.

Your next question was, "What are the possible reasons why Emma might choose each option?" We'll begin with parenting.

So Emma might choose this option if she feels emotionally ready and wants to raise the baby, and she believes that parenting is the right choice for her.

Adoption.

You may have said that Emma doesn't feel ready to raise a child.

Or abortion, you may have said that Emma feels she's not in the position to have a baby at this time.

Right, moving on now to the second part of our lesson where we're asking the question, "What support is available?" When someone is facing an unintended pregnancy, it's important that they receive accurate and unbiased information before they make that decision.

And remember we mentioned this before, but it is that person's choice.

Nobody else gets to make the choice or make the decision about what to do with an unintended pregnancy except the person who is pregnant.

Now, accurate and unbiased information is really important because not all sources available do give accurate, unbiased information about what to do in the event of an unintended pregnancy.

There are some sources that we should avoid.

The first one is pregnancy crisis centres that hold strong views.

The second one is friend's stories.

Basing big life decisions on what friends say they've done or they know other people have done is not always gonna steer us in the right direction.

And then social media influencers as well.

So they are some sources that people should avoid if they want to receive accurate and unbiased information about unintended pregnancies.

The most reliable sources available out there provide factual and unbiased medical information, which is explained without judgement.

Now, sources which are far more trustworthy include a person's local doctor, their GP, or a medical professional, services such as 111, which is an urgent non-emergency advice service, and the NHS website.

Now let's pause here and let's check our understanding.

Who can provide trusted pregnancy advice in the UK? Is it a doctor or midwife, a friend at school, or a social media influencer? Pause the video, have a think about your answer, and then we'll go through the correct one together.

Really well done if you said a doctor or midwife.

Yes, out of those three options, they are the most reliable, factual, and non-bias sources of information available to somebody who is experiencing an unintended pregnancy.

So medical support provided by doctors and midwives is one type of support available to people.

Dr.

Elsie says that as a GP she could explain the difference between medical and surgical abortion to someone who's considering ending their pregnancy.

And of course, as a medical professional, everything that a doctor would tell a person experiencing unintended pregnancy all comes from a medical perspective.

What is best for that person's body? It would not come with any judgement or bias.

Another type of support is emotional support.

Remember we said before that an unintended pregnancy can be an incredibly stressful time, and emotional support can be provided by counsellors, charities, helplines, and trusted adults.

We've got Counsellor Carl here telling us a bit more.

He says, "As a counsellor, I work with people who might be feeling overwhelmed by pregnancy." And because of the stressfulness of an unintended pregnancy, that emotional support is really important.

Another type of support somebody could access is legal support.

And this can be provided by social workers, official UK adoption agencies, and other charities.

So Social Worker Louise says that as a social worker she helps someone understand the legal processes of adoption and their rights.

So we can see that there is lots of support available for anybody going through this situation.

We're gonna pause here again and we're gonna check our understanding about what we've just learned.

True or false, an official UK adoption agency is able to offer reliable and unbiased support.

Is that true or false? Pause the video here and have a think about your answer.

Really well done if you said "true." Absolutely.

So an adoption agency can provide information about a person's rights, how to go about the adoption process, and again, all of this information provided to them will be unbiased and reliable.

Well done if you got that answer correct.

Now we're gonna put our learning into practise.

So what I'd like for you to do is I'd like for you to sort the six sources of information into the following categories.

They are reliable and objective, or unreliable.

So read through those six sources and tell me are they reliable and objective or unreliable? Then I'd like for you to tell me which two sources do you think are the most reliable and why? And why might some sources not be completely reliable? So pause the video, I'd like to really have a think about your answers, and then we'll go through what you might have said in just a moment.

Really good work there.

So you were asked to sort the six sources of information into the following categories.

We had reliable and objective, and unreliable.

So your answer should look like this.

Reliable and objective is the NHS website, a GP, or family doctor, and an official UK adoption agency.

When it comes to unreliable sources of information, you should have said a social media post from an influencer, a friend's personal experience, and a pregnancy crisis centre with a strong opinion on abortion.

Then you were asked, "Which two sources do you think are the most reliable and why?" So you answer might include that the NHS website and a GP or family doctor are the most reliable because they provide factual, unbiased medical information and will explain all options without judgement.

Then you are asked why might some sources not be completely reliable? And the answer might include that some sources, like social media or pregnancy crisis centres with strong opinions, might give biassed information that pushes one option over others instead of presenting all the options fairly.

Well done if you mentioned any of those things in your answers.

Now, to end today's lesson we're gonna have a look at a summary of what we've learned.

So unintended pregnancies can be managed through various options such as parenting, adoption, or abortion.

It is the pregnant person's choice about what they do with their pregnancy, not anybody else's.

Different support systems are available for each option, including medical, emotional, and legal support.

These include a local doctor and the NHS website.

There are some sources of unreliable information such as social media influencers, which should be avoided.

Now, if any of the topics that we've discussed in today's lesson affect you in any way or you have any concerns, there are places that you can go to to access support.

Here we have NHS Live Well, which gives advice about healthy living, exercise, quitting smoking, and drinking less alcohol.

And we also have the NHS website, which provides advice about health and prevention, including how to access services.

And I'd like to end today's lesson by saying a big well done for all of you, fantastic work, and I look forward to seeing you in another RSHE lesson soon.