Loved the article – witty and well written! The tenant of the article was new to me since I never thought of having children as an “inescapable” component of the New York or any woman’s dream. I’ve definitely wanted children for as long as I can remember but never felt pressure to do so. I loved babysitting when I was a teen and always hoped I would be able to have children of my own. There are new pressures for today’s mom as stated by Ratner - complete with the required reading, the clubs, the gurus, the dues, the inclusion etc. and that IS stressful, but that came after the decision to have children – that’s the result of the over-informed, paxil-popping society we live in.
The advice from CDC was intended for women who might EVER consider the possibility of having a child, whether intentional or not (thus if you’re pro-life you probably want to heed CDC advice). If you’re pro-choice (as I am) no need to follow CDC advice, EXCEPT in the case that you think you may actually WANT to have a baby someday. The facts are as stated verbatim in the CDC report,
“Adverse pregnancy outcomes remain a prevalent health problem: 12% of babies are born premature, 8% are born with low birth weight, and 3% have major birth defects. Of women giving birth, 31% suffer pregnancy complications.” This is a major public health issue since these numbers could be lowered if preventive measures were followed by women who are A) Pro-life or B) Pro-Choice but open to having a baby someday whether planned or not. No need to think there is a government conspiracy to pressure women into having babies; they just want you to have the best chances for a healthy baby and pregnancy if you CHOOSE to do so.
Loved the article – witty and well written! The tenant of the article was new to me since I never thought of having children as an “inescapable” component of the New York or any woman’s dream. I’ve definitely wanted children for as long as I can remember but never felt pressure to do so. I loved babysitting when I was a teen and always hoped I would be able to have children of my own. There are new pressures for today’s mom as stated by Ratner - complete with the required reading, the clubs, the gurus, the dues, the inclusion etc. and that IS stressful, but that came after the decision to have children – that’s the result of the over-informed, paxil-popping society we live in.
The advice from CDC was intended for women who might EVER consider the possibility of having a child, whether intentional or not (thus if you’re pro-life you probably want to heed CDC advice). If you’re pro-choice (as I am) no need to follow CDC advice, EXCEPT in the case that you think you may actually WANT to have a baby someday. The facts are as stated verbatim in the CDC report,
“Adverse pregnancy outcomes remain a prevalent health problem: 12% of babies are born premature, 8% are born with low birth weight, and 3% have major birth defects. Of women giving birth, 31% suffer pregnancy complications.” This is a major public health issue since these numbers could be lowered if preventive measures were followed by women who are A) Pro-life or B) Pro-Choice but open to having a baby someday whether planned or not. No need to think there is a government conspiracy to pressure women into having babies; they just want you to have the best chances for a healthy baby and pregnancy if you CHOOSE to do so.