The Blessings of Unplanned Parenthood

Surprise Child: Finding Hope in Unexpected Pregnancy

by Leslie Leyland Fields

WaterBrook, 2006

176 pages, $11.99

Available in bookstores

When we hear about “unplanned pregnancies,” many of us think of distressed teenaged girls. Reality check: Unexpected pregnancy happens to women of all ages and at all stages of their lives. They could do worse than to seek advice and encouragement from Leslie Leyland Fields, who relates her own experiences with unplanned pregnancy as well as the stories of dozens of other women of various ages and backgrounds.

The book is refreshingly honest and beautifully written. It manages to strike a careful balance between recognizing the sanctity of life while giving voice to the fears, worries, frustrations and rebellion many women feel when they find out they are expecting. The chapters are arranged in “trimesters” that follow the natural progression of a nine-month pregnancy. The opening page of each chapter features a description of a milestone achieved during that month of pregnancy along with a related Scripture quotation.

The author, who identifies herself as Christian, is a mother of six children, the youngest two of whom arrived as surprises.

Though Fields is married, many of the women whose stories she includes are not. They range from teenagers with unsupportive parents to middle-aged career women with no marriage prospects. She even includes the heart-wrenching stories of one young woman who is coerced into choosing abortion and another who is “tricked” into giving up her baby for adoption by her controlling father.

Fields identifies herself as pro-life, but stops short of judging women who choose abortion as a “solution” to their unplanned pregnancies. While this approach might disappoint staunch pro-lifers, I believe Fields’ lack of outright condemnation makes the book a more convincing pro-life witness for women who might be considering abortion. Rather than being turned off by the judgmentalism they might expect from a Christian voice, such readers will be gently nudged toward recognizing the unique, intrinsic value of every new life, planned or unplanned.

The final chapter features updates from all the women featured earlier and a description of their lives after eventually accepting their unplanned pregnancies. Without exception, their stories are positive testimonies to the blessings of children. They describe bright-eyed babies, charming toddlers and preschoolers who bring joy to their families’ lives.

Perhaps the book’s most powerful pro-life message comes in Fields’ final words:

“I marvel at the power and force of every single life. All of us could have ended these lives in a few moments, secretly, with only a doctor knowing. We could have gone on with our lives just as planned, trying to maintain control over our bodies and our futures. But who can count or measure what we would have lost? ... I would have lost all that these babies are becoming, the huge space that they already fill in this world. I would have lost the parts of myself that are stronger. My children would have lost the adoring company of their younger brothers. … Now instead of wondering who they might have been, I wonder at all they are.”

According to the National Institutes of Health, around 60% of all pregnancies in this country are unplanned. Chances are, you know someone who could use this book right about now.

Danielle Bean writes from

Belknap, New Hampshire.