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Unplanned Pregnancy Help by State

Can't afford to have a baby in North Dakota? Explore financial assistance programs, adoption support, and practical options available now.

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I’m Pregnant and Can’t Afford the Baby in North Dakota – What Can I Do?

Finding out you’re pregnant and can’t afford it doesn’t mean you’re out of options. You have three paths forward: parenting with government assistance, abortion (though North Dakota currently has no abortion providers), or adoption. Each option comes with different costs, different levels of support, and different outcomes for you and your baby.

If you’re pregnant but can’t afford another baby or your first, the financial pressure feels crushing—and that’s real. But before you make any decisions out of panic, you need to understand what financial help exists, what each option actually costs, and which path gives you the support you need right now.

You have time to figure this out, and help is available if you want to talk through your specific situation.

Financial Help for Pregnant Women in North Dakota: What’s Available and How to Get It

If I’m pregnant and can’t afford the baby, North Dakota offers several programs designed specifically for women in your situation.

North Dakota Medicaid for Pregnant Women covers prenatal care, delivery, and postpartum care for pregnant women with household income up to 162% of the federal poverty level. Coverage extends for 12 months after you give birth. Apply through the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services.

WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) provides free nutritious food, nutrition education, and breastfeeding support. As of May 2025, a family of four can earn up to $59,478 annually and still qualify. Apply at North Dakota WIC.

SNAP (food assistance) helps cover grocery costs if your income is low. Even if you’re working, you may qualify through the North Dakota SNAP program.

TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) provides cash assistance for rent, utilities, and basic needs for pregnant women and families. Contact North Dakota HHS to apply.

Child Care Assistance Program helps income-eligible families pay for child care while they work or attend school. You can apply online or by contacting the Customer Support Center.

Community Health Centers throughout North Dakota provide prenatal care on a sliding fee scale based on your income, making medical care accessible even without insurance.

These programs exist to help—but if you’re looking at them thinking “this still won’t be enough,” you’re not wrong. Government assistance can help you survive pregnancy, but it doesn’t solve long-term financial instability, childcare costs, or the reality that raising a child requires resources many women simply don’t have.

Abortion vs. Adoption Costs in North Dakota: What’s More Affordable — and Why?

When you’re pregnant and can’t afford it, understanding what each option actually costs can help you make a clearer decision.

Abortion costs in North Dakota:

North Dakota currently has no abortion providers operating in the state. The Red River Women’s Clinic relocated to Moorhead, Minnesota in 2022. While a district court struck down North Dakota’s abortion ban in September 2024 and the North Dakota Supreme Court declined to reinstate it in January 2025, the legal landscape remains uncertain as appeals continue.

If you travel out of state for abortion, costs typically include:

North Dakota Medicaid does not cover abortion except in cases of life endangerment, rape, or incest. Most private insurance plans don’t cover abortion either. You’ll need to pay upfront or arrange financing, and then cover all travel costs on top of the procedure itself.

Adoption costs in North Dakota:

Adoption is completely free for birth mothers. Not only do you pay nothing—you receive financial support during your pregnancy.

When you choose adoption through a licensed agency, you receive:

The financial support can cover rent, utilities, groceries, maternity clothing, transportation to medical appointments, and other pregnancy-related expenses. Under North Dakota law, adoptive families can legally pay for these expenses as long as they’re properly reported.

Unlike abortion, where you pay out of pocket to end the pregnancy, adoption provides financial support while you carry to term and allows your child to have the stable, loving home with a family who’s been preparing to become parents.

What Kind of Financial Assistance for Adoption Can You Get While Pregnant in North Dakota?

If you’re pregnant and can’t afford the baby, adoption offers more than just a way to place your child—it provides real financial support during one of the most stressful times in your life.

Financial assistance through adoption can cover:

Under North Dakota law, adoptive families can pay for living expenses during pregnancy and for up to six weeks after birth, ensuring you have support during recovery. The assistance isn’t dependent on you completing the adoption—if you decide to parent instead, you don’t owe anyone money back.

Working with a licensed adoption agency means you receive personalized support based on your specific needs, not a one-size-fits-all government program. This support acknowledges that pregnancy isn’t cheap, and you shouldn’t have to choose between paying rent and eating properly while growing a baby.

Why So Many Women in North Dakota Choose Adoption During Hard Times

When you’re pregnant but can’t afford another baby, adoption isn’t about giving up—it’s about giving your child what you can’t provide right now while also taking care of yourself.

Women choose adoption for many reasons, but financial hardship is one of the most common. Here’s why adoption makes sense when money is the barrier:

Your baby gets the stability you want to provide. Adoptive families have been screened, vetted, and approved. They have the financial resources, support systems, and preparation to provide your child with everything they need—not just to survive, but to thrive.

You get to choose the family. This isn’t the foster care system. You review family profiles, ask questions, and select the people you trust to raise your child. Many families are open to relationships that honor your child’s connection to you, allowing your child to grow up knowing where they came from.

You receive support that government programs can’t provide. Beyond financial assistance, you get counseling, guidance, and someone in your corner who understands what you’re going through. Licensed agencies provide advocates who help you navigate the process, understand your options, and make decisions that feel right for you.

You can maintain contact through open adoption. Many women worry that choosing adoption means losing their child forever. Open adoption allows you to maintain whatever level of contact feels right—letters, photos, visits—so your child grows up knowing you made this decision out of love, not abandonment.

Choosing adoption because of financial circumstances doesn’t make you a bad mother. It makes you a mother who wants better for her child than what she can provide right now, and that’s not failure—that’s love.

How Adoption Works if You’re Not Ready to Parent

If I’m pregnant and can’t afford the baby, here’s what the adoption process actually looks like:

Step 1: Contact an adoption agency. When you reach out, you’ll speak with an adoption counselor who explains your options, answers your questions, and helps you understand what to expect. There’s no pressure—this first conversation is about giving you information.

Step 2: Review adoptive family profiles. If you decide adoption is right for you, you’ll receive profiles of families waiting to adopt. These include photos, information about their lives, values, and what kind of relationship they’re open to having with you.

Step 3: Choose a family. You select the family you believe is best for your baby. Many agencies facilitate meetings—either in person, by phone, or by video—so you can get to know them before making your final decision.

Step 4: Begin receiving financial assistance. Once you’ve chosen adoption, you start receiving support for your pregnancy expenses. This continues throughout your pregnancy and for up to six weeks after birth.

Step 5: Create your adoption plan. You decide what you want your adoption to look like. Who do you want at the hospital? What contact do you want after placement? What information do you want shared about you? These decisions are yours.

Step 6: Birth and placement. When your baby is born, the adoptive family is there (if you want them to be), and you have time in the hospital with your baby. Under North Dakota law, you can give consent to adoption at any point after birth, and you have the right to change your mind before consent is finalized.

Step 7: Post-placement support. After placement, your agency continues providing counseling and support as you adjust to life after adoption. If you’ve chosen open adoption, they help facilitate ongoing contact.

The process is designed to support you, not rush you. If you want to talk through what this would look like in your specific situation, free consultations are available.

Will I Regret Choosing Adoption Because I Couldn’t Afford to Parent?

This is the question that keeps you up at night, isn’t it? “What if I regret this forever?”

Here’s the truth: choosing adoption is hard. It’s one of the hardest decisions you’ll ever make, and the grief is real. But regret and grief aren’t the same thing.

Grief is feeling the loss of what you hoped parenthood would be. Regret is wishing you’d made a different choice. Most women who choose adoption experience grief, but many don’t regret their decision because they know they did what was best for their child given the circumstances they were in.

Shame is often what drives regret—the feeling that you “should have” been able to make it work, that you “failed” as a mother. But choosing adoption when you can’t afford to parent isn’t failure. It’s recognizing that your child deserves more than constant financial stress, unstable housing, or a parent stretched too thin to provide what kids need to thrive.

The women who regret adoption are often those who felt pressured into it, who didn’t have enough information, or who weren’t given the support they needed to process what they were deciding. That’s why working with a licensed adoption agency—not someone pushing you toward a quick decision—matters so much.

You deserve counseling. You deserve time to think. You deserve to ask questions, change your mind, and make a choice that feels right for you. If money is the only reason you’re considering adoption, you need to ask yourself: “If money weren’t an issue, would I want to parent this baby?” If the answer is yes, then exploring every possible avenue of financial support makes sense. If the answer is more complicated—if you’re not ready, if the timing is wrong, if this isn’t the life you want—then adoption might be the right choice regardless of money.

Pregnant and Can’t Afford it? Help Is Available in North Dakota

If you’re pregnant and can’t afford the baby, you don’t have to figure this out alone.

Whether you’re leaning toward adoption, trying to figure out how to make parenting work, or just need someone to talk to about your options, free support is available right now.

You can speak with an adoption consultant who will:

This isn’t about pushing you toward any specific decision—it’s about making sure you have the information and support you need to make the choice that’s right for you.

Contact an adoption professional today to get answers to your questions about financial support, the adoption process, and what happens next.