I initially thought it was because of my age that i was noticing so many women pregnant. I sort of thought that i had reached the age when many women my age were giving birth. Apparently i was wrong. There is a baby boom happening in Australia. Since 2005, women have been giving birth to more children than the previous 10 or so years.
As i watch the stomachs of these women swell to almost unbearable sizes, i can't help but wonder the reason for the sudden increase in births. The previous government was quick to take credit for it, but adding a few more dollars to help cover child expenses doesn't seem like a reasonable reason to have children in mass droves.
I'm sure that finances did play a part in the decision. I mean, no couple would just have sex and produce a baby without thinking it through, right?....well...perhaps there is a flaw in that last statement.
Perhaps the answer lies there. Maybe the government has been putting aphrodisiacs in our water to increase the birth rate of the country. It's underhanded, immoral, and probably illegial...but those things have never stopped them before.
Maybe there is something to be said for the mystery of life. Why are there times when it there are baby booms and why are there baby not-booms. Why do mothers have children in desperately poor countries? Why don't mothers have children in wealthy countries? There is more to the question than economics. There is more to this question than love. I don't know that i believe it can be quantified so easily in terms and quasions. It is simply part of the mystery of life.
4 comments:
Thank you for addressing many questions I too have wondered... next post any chance we could have the answers? This lots of babies in people my age is making me feel old and infertile... boht of which could be a possibility but I am not about to go find out in the near future.
i went out to lunch today with two co-workers. the male made a comment to the female co-worker about her biological clock ticking... that she better hurry up and get married. this to a woman who is very much desperate to get married. she was upset at the comment... and upset that none of the men she dated wanted to commmit... and that she was fast approaching the age where she would be unable to have children.
and then, later in the conversation, she indicated that she isnt even sure if she WANTS children. i was struck by this oddity - that many women feel they have to have the chance to choose not to have children even if they don't want them.
old and infertile - whatever. we are PAST that evolutionary stage!
(oh, and yes, i want a child or two someday)
btw, hate to burst your bubble, but it really is all about economics. we make choices based on incentives. maybe its not all about money, but its definitely about economics...
incentives/influencing factors: education, availability of birth control, religious/cultural values, money, health. and my favorite - statistical randomness, also known as "oops!"
Jenn: 1 EEPS!! jennifer with children!!!!!!!!!!! 2)you were truly influenced by Mr. Fautheree, weren't you?
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