For Women

If I were to ask you: where do you see yourself in 5, 10, or 20 years, what do you think about?

Many of us think about our goals for education, work, housing, marriage, vacation, and retirement and begin to make plans.  More often than not, we don’t make a plan to have children.  Many of us assume that having children “just happens." Without planning, half of women in California who have a baby each year did not intend to become pregnant and felt less prepared for pregnancy than they’d hoped.  This happens for women of all ages, married and unmarried, first time mothers and those with older children.  Becoming pregnant when you’re unprepared can impact your health and life goals for you and your family.It is never too early or too late to start to include plans to have a baby in your life plan. 

To get started, think about what you want.  Some questions to consider:

Do you ever want to have children? If so, when and how many?

Think also about what you want to do before you have children:

Travel with friends? Finish school? Get a certain job? Pay off your credit cards?  Save money?  Find a committed partner? Buy a house?  Move closer to your extended family?

Based on your answers, we have information below about topics that are important for you right now.