08/02/2026
What you can help for a young or teenager This is a very serious situation. A 16-year-old expressing suicidal thoughts is an emergency, especially with the added stress of an unplanned pregnancy. Here’s how you can respond safely and supportively:
1. Ensure Immediate Safety
Take her seriously—never dismiss or minimize her feelings.
If you believe she is in immediate danger of harming herself, contact emergency services or a trained crisis helpline immediately.
In Zambia, you can contact:
Lifeline Zambia: 2117 (for crisis support)
Zambia Police or emergency services: 999
2. Listen Without Judgment
Stay calm and present.
Let her talk about her feelings without interrupting or criticizing.
Validate her emotions:
“I hear that you feel overwhelmed and scared. It makes sense to feel upset about this situation.”
3. Encourage Professional Help
Suggest she talks to a counselor, social worker, or healthcare provider who deals with adolescents and pregnancy.
Schools often have school counselors who are trained to help.
If she’s willing, involve her parents or trusted adults for support—but respect her wishes about confidentiality if it’s safe.
4. Explore Support for Pregnancy
Help her access adolescent-friendly reproductive health services:
Guidance on safe options (counseling, prenatal care, or adoption, depending on laws and her choice).
Make sure she knows she is not alone and that help is available.
5. Remove Immediate Means of Harm
Make sure she does not have easy access to things she could use to harm herself.
6. Follow Up
Check in regularly. Let her know you care and that her life is valuable.
Encourage ongoing therapy or counseling.
Important: You cannot handle this alone. This situation requires urgent professional intervention. If she expresses a plan or intent to act immediately, treat it as an emergency and call for help🫶☝️🫶
