Gen X women and fertility problems

It was just something that I had to get through to get me to you.
From Lila McCann and To Get Me To You

It’s been widely reported that Generation X women “face a fertility crisis greater than any generation before them.” Last week, a popular Web site in Australia, The Punch, published an article by Rita Panahi, Generation X: The Childless Generation.

Here is an excerpt:

It is time we stopped deceiving ourselves and faced reality. This fertility crisis is one of our own making and born out of an irrational desire to have it all. The corporate ladder will always be there but women only have a relatively small window of time to bear children.

Penelope Trunk, a popular Gen X career blogger, has written about this several times on her Brazen Careerist blog. In one post, she reported the research of James Vere, author of the paper, Having It All No Longer: Fertility, Female Labor Supply, and the New Life Choices of Generation X. According to Vere, Gen X women are having more kids than Baby Boomer women had.

My biggest problem with Panahi’s article is that she doesn’t mention other reasons Gen X women have put off having children. In my case, this reality was a byproduct of divorce. Last week, I came across an article and radio interview on Gen X starter marriages. I know several Gen X women who married young (like me); divorced a few years later (like me) and finally remarried in their mid-to-late 30s (like me). Like me (I like saying like me), by the time they could have children they were nearing 40.

Panahi’s article mentions how difficult it is for a woman to have children after the age of 35. I did not have problems getting pregnant, although my pregnancies were very difficult. I had my kids at 29, 37, and 39. I don’t recommend people wait until their late 30s to have children unless they don’t have a choice. Having said that, I would not change the path my life has taken for anything. Part of my restoration has come with these precious children who have extended the summer of my life.

Well I, I still can remember times
When the night seemed to surround me
I was sure the sun would never shine on me
And I, I thought it my destiny
To walk this world alone
But now you’re here with me
Now you’re here with me
And I don’t regret the rain
Or the nights I felt the pain
Or the tears I had to cry
Some of those times along the way
Every road I had to take
Every time my heart would break
It was just something that I had to get through
To get me to you
Gen X Blog Jennifer Chronicles

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1 Comment

  1. Melessa

    “extended the summer of my life”

    I love that turn of phrase. And that is exactly how I feel about my “bonus baby” who came just after I turned 37. I wish I had this same perspective when I had my first one at 25, then again I wish my body had recovered as quickly as it did that time too. But that just isn’t how it works. 😉

    Reply

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