#momathon2
Are more and more couples going for planned pregnancies these days?...
Yesterday when one of my childhood buddies called me from abroad and told me that she is expecting her first child, I was very happy for her!!...I gave her a few early pregnancy tips!!..she has been married for last 8 years but despite a lot of family pressure, she and her husband had decided to take the plunge when completely ready...
Haven't times changed!!..just 2 generations back, when women gave birth and could manage bringing up even 5-10 kids, during my parent's time, 2 or 3 kids were what one could manage. And today so many; people are game for one kid because that is what they can handle financially, physically and otherwise... Most of the couple's are taking a planned and well informed decision.
I remember my grandmother asking my mom to try for a son (we are 2 sister's) many times saying "bachchey pal jaate hai""...but my mom and dad were happy with just 2 kids. They did what suited their condition.
Today more and more women are career oriented and are working. Family structures have changed. Unlike earlier times more and more people are living in nuclear set ups where support from family is less or even nil. The cost of living a good life has increased manifold and we are no more a Mota khaao..Mota pehno generation. We all want everything good in life. Sometimes having a double income is imperative to leading a good lifestyle. Besides that there are many other things that have changed. After spending a bomb on ones education and years of studying and working hard people are marrying late. People are becoming aware of how life changes after having a kid and how initial years are difficult so, couple's want a few years to not only settle down well financially and understand each other but also they want to travel together and have fun before taking the responsibility of becoming parents. Even when we have so much medical advancement today,

Women in their late 20s and early 30s have many lifestyle related diseases which are affecting their conception, pregnancies, child birth and child well being. The increased stress factor in men and women can't be denied too.
Also, my personal take on the issue is that "Amongst a husband and wife, whose life changes the most'?..No doubt that when a man becomes a father, his responsibilities increase and his life changes too...but think about women?
They are the ones who get pregnant and handle all pregnancy related woes. May be not true for everyone, but for some even this is an ordeal... childbirth is not a joke. It's like getting a rebirth and days or months after that for a woman bring a sea change in her life. It's not only how those 9 months of pregnancy and child birth which change her physically it's also her routine, social life and career related things that change. She is the one who has to breastfeed the baby and shares the maximum number of chores in bringing up her child.
It's not just that 40 days of confinement, life becomes restricted. Everything is new at least for a first time mother. So much change is difficult to handle for some and this is what leads to postpartum depression in some.
Some people even give up on their careers later so that their spouse's can carry on and grow in theirs!!...and remain behind to bring up their kid well.
So, In my opinion, with a changing world around us, it should be a couple's sole prerogative to plan their child. Families should respect and support their decision. In that too if the woman can have a say it would be great.
What's your take on this?... please share!!