Your Ovaries and You

So, in addition to worrying about an unplanned pregnancy and whether I'll be able to get an abortion, now I have to worry about under planning pregnancy? Female fertility has become a schizophrenic mine field.

A friend of mine posted a recent Washington Post article on Facebook, about the terror-inducing rate at which women’s fertility declines, to the point that by age 30 we’re a mere 30,000 eggs away from barren. Or so the tone would have you believe. It’s every stereotypical mother
who’s ever berated her daughter for not giving her grandchildren. So,
in addition to worrying about an unplanned pregnancy and whether I’ll
be able to get an abortion, I’ve now reached the ripe old age of 30 (ok
32) and find out that I only have 10% of my eggs left? When did under
planning pregnancy enter into this? Female fertility has become a
schizophrenic mine field. We have to convince teenagers of their
ability to get pregnant and why they shouldn’t, when in actuality they
are at their most fertile, only to spend our 20s trying to finish the
growing up we putt off in our late teens, and reach a point where it’s
actually responsible to have a child, and then hit 30 and realize we’re
late to the parenting party. What does that say about our world where
we seem to have evolved in so many ways, constantly extending our
youth, that we have almost missed the mark on reproduction? Is this
really possible at the same time that we are still experiencing
overpopulation issues globally?

As a former Planned Parenthood employee I’m leery of any article that suggests that women – and their partners – rush into parenting. Something that complex and life-changing shouldn’t be rushed into. Of course women deserve to know all the facts, so if this study holds up to further analysis and replication, then women should certainly be made aware. I just hope it doesn’t result in decisions made for manufactured reasons. There’s
already so much societal pressure to have children that it seems almost
cosmically unfair to add biology to the mix. Especially since this study not only reinforces the societal message, but gives it a validity that can only be matched by religion. Clearly, we were meant to breed as early as possible. Never mind the graduate degree, or even the undergraduate degree if you want more than one normal and healthy child. Our real job is to create the next generation. As for how well we raise them, how safe and clean we leave the planet for them, or anything else, well that’s secondary. Hopefully our children will
figure that part out.