Many factors have to be taken into account when you are considering parenthood. The following are some questions you should ask yourself and some issues you should consider when making this decision. Some issues are relevant to both men and women; others apply only to women. There are no "right" answers—you must decide for yourself what your answers reveal about your aptitude for parenthood.

	Physical Health
Yes No	1.	Are you in reasonably good health?
Yes No	2.	Do you have any behaviors or conditions that could be of special concern?
		Obesity	Anemia
		Smoking	Diabetes
		Alcohol and drug use	Sexually transmitted diseases
		Previous problem with	Prenatal exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES)
		pregnancy or delivery	Asthma
Yes No	3.	Are you under 20 or over 35 years of age?
Yes No	4.	Do you or your partner have a family history of a genetic problem that a baby might inherit?
		Hemophilia	Phenylketonuria (PKU)
		Sickle-cell disease	Cystic fibrosis
		Down syndrome	Thalassemia
		Tay-Sachs disease	Other

	Financial Circumstances
Yes No	1.	Will your health insurance cover the costs of pregnancy, prenatal tests, delivery, and medical attention for the mother and baby before and after the birth?
Yes No	2.	Can you afford the supplies for the baby: diapers, bedding, crib, stroller, car seat, clothing, food, and medical supplies?
Yes No	3.	Will one parent leave his or her job to care for the baby?
Yes No	4.	If so, can the decrease in family income be worked into the family budget?
Yes No	5.	If both parents will continue to work, has affordable child care been set up?
Yes No	6.	The annual cost of raising a child is about $9500; can you save and/or provide the necessary money?

	Education, Career, and Child Care Plans
Yes No	1.	Have you completed as much of your education as you want?
Yes No	2.	Have you sufficiently established yourself in a career, if that is important to you?
Yes No	3.	Have you investigated parental leave and company-sponsored child care?
Yes No	4.	Do both parents agree on child care arrangements?

	Lifestyle and Social Support
Yes No	1.	Would you be willing to give up the freedom to do what you want to do when you want to do it?
Yes No	2.	Would you be willing to restrict your social life, to lose leisure time and privacy?
Yes No	3.	Would you and your partner be prepared to spend more time at home? Would you have enough time to spend with a child?
Yes No	4.	Are you prepared to be a single parent if your partner leaves or dies?
Yes No	5.	Do you have a network of family and friends who will help you with the baby? Are there community resources you can call on for additional assistance?

	Readiness
Yes No	1.	Are you prepared to have a helpless being completely dependent on you 24 hours a day?
Yes No	2.	Do you like children? Have you enough experiences with babies, toddlers, and teenagers?
Yes No	3.	Do you think time spent with children is time well spent?
Yes No	4.	Do you communicate easily with others?
Yes No	5.	Do you have enough love to give a child? Can you express affection easily?
Yes No	6.	Do you feel good enough about yourself to respect and nurture others?
Yes No	7.	Do you have safe ways of handling anger, frustration, and impatience?
Yes No	8.	Would you be willing to devote a great part of your life, at least 18 years, to being responsible for a child?

	Relationship with Partner
Yes No	1.	Does your partner want to have a child? Is he or she willing to ask these same questions of himself or herself?
Yes No	2.	Have you adequately discussed your reasons for wanting a child?
Yes No	3.	Does either of you have philosophical objections to adding to the world's population?
Yes No	4.	Have you and your partner discussed each other's feelings about religion, work, family, and child raising? Are your feelings compatible and conducive to good parenting?
Yes No	5.	Would both you and your partner contribute in raising the child?
Yes No	6.	Is your relationship stable? Could you provide a child with a really good home environment?
Yes No	7.	After having a child, would your partner and you be able to separate if you should have unsolvable problems? Or would you feel obligated to remain together for the sake of the child?

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