The element of choice in when to have a baby has perhaps never been as great as it is now. For most of human history childbirth has been an almost natural process, occurring as soon as possible after nine months has elapsed after marriage. Barrenness aside, most people would have accepted pregnancy as a blessing and relief.
Although emphasis in the past was on wanting to get pregnant, there is surprising evidence that contraceptive devices were used thousands of years ago. The forerunners of modern condoms were made of animal intestines and fish bladders. They suggest that contraception has always been a personal matter, even when demographic problems were inclined to be too few rather than too many human beings.
In the twentieth century it appears that there are many communities that proceed with procreation blithely oblivious of the fact that the human population is rising like a ticking time bomb. Every minute of every day the human population rises past seven billion, towards the ultimate carrying capacity of the planet. Unfortunately, the people who are ignorant or indifferent to this problem are the ones who have most babies.
In 1890 the median age for women to marry in the US was twenty-two and by 2010 that had risen to twenty-six. Given the assumption that the first child is born soon after marriage that would mean that the consensus view is that the best age to have a child might be in the range of twenty-two to twenty-six years.
Reliable methods of contraception and enhanced career opportunities for girls may be factors that account for decisions to delay falling pregnant. This allows for career opportunities but also invites the risk of infertility and difficulties in falling pregnant.
At least in the First World contraception is now so reliable that the question of not falling pregnant may seem to be entirely a matter of choice. The converse question of when to become pregnant is not nearly so clear-cut. Many unmarried women face the decision alone. Married women may find themselves in disagreement with their husbands. The best case scenario is when parenthood is wisely planned.
More significantly, many young women who have used contraception and advanced their careers through hard work and dedication may find themselves barren when they decide that the time for them to fall pregnant is opportune. Biology, they find, can upset the best laid plans of mice and men.
Notwithstanding the increased efficacy of infertility interventions and the reliability of contraceptive methods the decision of when to have a baby remains an intensely personal one. It is the mother who will live the growing life within her and turn her personal world upside down when dirty diapers become prominent parts of her daily routine. The intensity of parenthood has increased in recent times since the extended family has been largely eliminated as a support mechanism. However, parenthood in all its earthiness is still a force for keeping us sane and in touch with our origins.
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