1.) Chapter 11 (“To Be or Not To Be a Parent”) discusses:
· Becoming a Parent
· Benefits and Costs of Having Children
· Joys and Tribulations of Pregnancy
· Some Effects of Parenthood
· How Many Children Do You Want?
· Why U.S. Fertility Rates have Changed
· Infant Mortality
· Postponing Parenthood
· Why Are Many People Postponing Parenthood?
· Some Characteristics of Older Parents
· Infertility
· Reasons for Infertility
· Reactions to Infertility
· Adoption: The Traditional Solution to Infertility
· Transracial Adoption
· Open and Closed Adoption
· Adoption by Same-Sex Partners
· International Adoption
· Rewards and Costs of Adoption
· Medical and High-Tech Solutions to Infertility
· Medical Treatments for Infertility
· Artificial Insemination
· Fertility Drugs
· High-Tech Treatments for Infertility
· Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART)
· In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
· Surrogacy
· Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD)
· Genetic Engineering: It’s Benefits and Costs
· Abortion
· Incidence of Abortion
· Who Has Abortions and Why?
· Is Abortion Safe?
· Why Have Abortion Rates Decreased?
· Child Free by Choice
2.) As I was reading through the chaper, I found it interesting to read about older parents because I went to high school with a girl whose parents were very old; when we were seniors, her Mom was in her mid to late 70s and her Dad was in his early 80s. This sounds crazy but it’s true, when I first saw her Dad pick her up from school I thought it was her Grandpa. Reading about the advantages and disadvantages and thinking about how life would be different with much older parents was pretty interesting.
3.) The book raises two good questions that I would like to highlight. When talking about infertility, it asks, “why do you think that women are generally unhappier than men by the couple’s inability to conceive a baby? Or [is it just] that men are simply more likely to hide their feelings?”
I feel that women are generally unhappier about infertility because part of being a woman is having children and if you can’t have children, you feel less of a woman and ultimately less feminine. I also feel that having children is something that a vast majority of women have imagined their whole life. From a young age, many of us played with baby dolls; we babysat neighborhood kids; we thought about marriage and starting our own family, and to be told that you won’t be able to do something you’ve been thinking of/dreaming of your whole life is heartbreaking.
What do you guys think?
I agree with you Kazzandra. I for sure think that becoming pregnant is something a lot of women dream of when they are younger. However, I also think that is why adoption is such a great thing. I understand that you won't have the experience of nurturing a child in your womb, but that is not to say you will love your adopted child any less. I think adoption is a wonderful alternative for women who can't have children. I think women who can't have children can still have the dream they always wanted.
ReplyDeleteMaria Nicholas
Your point about motherhood as part of womanhood is well taken. Being a mother gives a woman an opportunity to routinely behave in ways that are traditionally identified as womanly -- such as caring, nurturing, and comforting. Being a mother is a way of expressing these traits daily.
ReplyDeleteConcerning men, I don't think that they are any less disappointed than women by the couple's inability to conceive. Although it is not as clear that by becoming a father they afford new ways of expressing manhood (although I think that they do), I would say that they do derive great satisfaction from the ability to continue the family name (if it is a boy) or to pass down values and traditions.
One important factor as well, which was noted earlier, was the fact that Maria pointed out in that this is something that "women dream of when they are younger." I think a good analogy to point out here would be a wedding. This is not to say that a guy does not want to have a wedding, but rather that it is a focal point in the development of many girls, whereas it might resemble a "back burner" for a guy in terms of development (in that it may be something he/she wants, but is not actively thought of as much). I think this is why the difference might be seen between men and women on this issue.
ReplyDeleteKarl Wahlen