Parenthood Having Children Chapter 9 1 Parenthood Having

Parenthood – Having Children Chapter 9 1

Parenthood – Having Children • Personal, couple, and societal issue • Babies are endearing, magnetic? 2

Parenthood – Societal Issue • Population growth and stability • Societies vary tremendously WRT policy • China’s one child policy, 1. 39 • Singapore policy shift to raise fertility, 3. 45 • Population replacement = just over 2, couple 3

Biological and Cultural Imperatives • Biological imperative based on sex drive People have sex, pregnancy results, humans reproduce • Cultural imperative based on norms and values Desire to have children, be complete, fulfill purpose • mothers reflections of ordinary days, 7. 38 • “ex-spouses and ex-jobs, but not…. 4

Parenthood : a major life-long commitment • Strong expectations in most religions Procreation as a commandment • What do you want? Mix of social, cultural, economic, religious, and familial influences • Duggars on birth control and faith, 4. 45 5

Parenthood : a major life-long commitment • “Getting pregnant or causing pregnancy, having babies, and starting families are perhaps the most important things we ever do, with generational effects. These major steps need to be thought about carefully, not stumbled into. ” Sarah Brown • mom giving it to kids, 3. 25 6

Cost to Raise a child to age 18 (USDA, Economic Research Service, 2012) Housing Food Transport Clothes Health Ccare/ed Misc total Two adults, before tax income: less than $59, 410 (average = $38, 000) 53, 820 31, 050 24, 630 11, 130 14, 070 23, 640 10, 740 $169, 080 Two adults, before tax income: $59, 410 to $102, 870 (average = $79, 940) 70, 560 37, 620 33, 900 13, 500 18, 990 41, 100 19, 230 $234, 900 7

Couple Having Sex Without Contraception Results in ~? Children, on average • Natural fertility = average number of children when using no birth control and having sex • Average NF ~ 11 births per woman • The Duggers – 19 and counting • Leaving fertility to fate, in the hands of God 8

Children I will have (or I had) • A • B • C • D • E no children one or two children three or four children five or more children DK, or not my decision (0) (1 -2) (3 -4) (5+) (? ) 9

Good reasons to have a Child(ren) • Love children, want to give to them • Want the life experience of being parent(s) • Mommy Is Scary • Emotionally and psychologically ready • Have support-- partner, family and friends • Physically healthy and capable • Financially able to provide 10

Not good reasons to have a child(ren) • It just happened (biological imperative) • A baby will give love, make me feel loved • A baby will make partner stay with me • Someone else wants me to (pressure) • Children will provide income security 11

Pronatalism • Pronatalism = teachings, encouragement, or policies that promote or favor having children • Judeo-Christian teachings, commandment to “multiply & replenish” • Celebrate and congratulate parenthood • Positive and negative effects of pronatalism 12

Pronatalism and Religion: One guy’s religious view • Male blogger A: “Religious people have larger families because of Western religions. Further… religious people tend to place a higher emphasis on altruism, whereas secular people tend to be more self-focused. Thus, for a religious person, children provide the opportunity to nurture and benefit other human beings. For many secular people, however, children merely consume time and resources that otherwise could have been devoted to their own amusement. ” 13

Pronatalism and Religion: Another guy’s nonreligious response • Male blogger B: “I am appalled by this sentiment… I choose not to have children, not because I am selfish, but because I do not believe that bringing a child into a world as broken as ours is currently responsible. I, like many secularists I know, give more money to charity than my religious friends, treat others with more respect and care a great deal about every person on the planet. It’s about being human, not about believing in beings that may or may not exist. ” 14

Decisions about Having Children • Whether or not to have children? • Most couples in the U. S want children • Some couples in the U. S. don’t want children • Biological, cultural, religious imperatives • Parenthood or not…why not? 15

Decisions about Having Children • 20% of women in the U. S. have no children by the end of their childbearing years • Some are without children by choice (childfree) • Some without children by infertility (childless) 16

Decisions about Having Children Ways to postpone or prevent having children: • Abstinence = don’t have sex, no conception • Contraception = have sex, prevent conception • Abortion = after conception, prevent birth • Sterilization = prevent conception ever 17

Conception and Contraception • If you are having sex, avoiding pregnancy requires deliberate effort, consistency, planning • “Family Planning”, Planned Parenthood • Lower unplanned pregnancy among women who are higher-income, white, college graduates, and married 18

Major Eras in Family Planning • Margaret Sanger – Family planning • Planned Parenthood—education, advocacy, family planning services • The Gates Foundation – campaign to increase birth control around the world • Every child a wanted child 19

Conception and Contraception • Unintended pregnancy = a pregnancy that was either mistimed or unwanted • 49% of all pregnancies in the U. S. • Most likely because of no contraception, or incorrect use of contraception • Highest among poor, low-income, ages 18 -24, cohabiting, and minority women 20

Contraceptive methods • Condoms = prevent sperm from being deposited inside the vagina, common among teens and those having sex sporadically (also STD prevention) • Pills = hormone regulation prevents ovulation, common among women in long-term relationships • Hormonal implants (Norplant) • Intrauterine devices (IUDs) = prevent implantation, new generation of IUDs highly effective and safe • Sterilization = vasectomy for M, tubal ligation for F • What about abstinence? 21

Contraceptive methods • Alternative (“natural”) Birth Control, “Fertility Awareness” pregnancy planning • Withdrawal = male withdraws before sperm are released (ejaculated) • Natural family planning = no sex during most fertile time in a woman’s 28 day cycle (mid between periods, about the 14 th day) • Joke about “rhythm” method of birth control 22

Childless or Childfree? • 20% of women in the U. S. have no children by the end of their childbearing years • Some are without children by choice (childfree) • Some without children by infertility (childless) • Sometimes people who want to have a child can not become pregnant—infertility… 23

Infertility definitions • Infertility = not conceiving during one year of having sex without using contraception • 1 in 5 couples in the U. S. • About 60% of these couples eventually conceive (less fertile, rather than “sterile”) • Couples now wait longer to have children, become less fertile over time 24

Infertility Meaning • Being the “odd-one-out” • Infertility meaning for women vs men • “Barren” • Identity • Future roles 25

Infertility causes • Causes in males about 40% • Low sperm count • Defective sperm 26

Infertility causes • Causes in females about 45% • Failure to ovulate normally = no egg • Blockage of the fallopian tubes 27

Infertility causes • Causes in couple about 15% • Both have one or more problems 28

Infertility testing • Takes time and is not always conclusive • Male testing can be done quickly (sperm count, motility analysis) • Female testing takes much longer • Each new test or intervention to increase chances of conception requires a monthly fertility cycle 29