"Are 'bumpaholics' addicted to pregnancy?"
this article passes for journalism? first of all, the term "baby bump" itself is highly insulting. it isn't a bump. you can ride over bumps in the road, squease icky out of a bump on your face, and you can do "the bump" on the dance floor, but a baby isn't a protuberance for heaven's sake, it's a human being. as for claiming that multiple pregnancies makes a woman a "bump"-aholic, or any sort of addict speaks volumes about our society and its own sick and twisted ideas -- both towards pregnancy and towards responsible or irresponsible actions.
to limit the co-creation of a human soul to a "feel good" high is not only insulting, it's shortsighted and ludicrous. are there women out there who conceive for selfish or irresponsible reasons? surely. but to assume that every woman who chooses to have a large family is a brainless, selfish thrill-seeker is absurd. of course, the sad fact is that some truly messed-up women have children for all the wrong reasons. i've met some of them. and "wanting something to love" tops the list of really rotten and self-indulgent ideas -- and it isn't just immature and misguided teens who are saying this -- but educated, professional, single women facing mid-life all alone. thank you, betty friedan.
make no mistake, this brockenbrough woman, who wrote the article for women's health ragazine magazine, covers her bases by suggesting that not all women of multiple children are serving some self involved pathology, but she adds it in tiny little doses sprinkled throughout and closer to the end of the article. the gist of her claim is all about *hormonal highs* and the selfish desire to be the *center of the universe* and the thrill of being *larger than life* in the eyes of everyone around you.
oh, the wonderful experiences of stretch marks, hemorrhoids, raging hormonal swings, morning sickness, physical exhaustion, and funky black hairs creeping into places no hair should ever sprout may be thrilling for some; but, difficulty breathing, night sweats, nightmares, an aching back, swollen feet, nausea, skin tags and the general feeling of "OMG i swallowed a watermelon whole" do not a pleasure high make.
yes, it is an amazing miracle to know that you carry life within your womb and to feel this life growing within you, but the only true reward from pregnancy is the immortal soul that God has allowed you to bring into this world, and by His grace, to usher toward His Divine Presence in the next.
What a stupid, stupid article.
"We're able to use our higher brain functions...."
Yeah, that's what we're doing when we decide that gyms and coffee with the girls are more important than babies.
Our culture is so divorced from healthy relationships that it cannot conceive of groups of people with multiple kids having any sort of social life.
I will never forget talking to Frank Fisher after we joined the church. He was stunned with the change in society in such a short time. He lamented a time when folks had built in groups of friends that were all pregnant or raising kids in various stages...They got together and the grownups played cards or barbecued and the kids ran in the back yard.
With those changes have come hyper-involved parents and immature kids. Ballet lessons, etc? Nice. As nice as a lifetime brother or sister? Nope.
In a way, she may be right. Maybe some of these people are driven by loneliness. The loneliness of growing up without brothers and sisters. They can tell something is wrong, but they don't know exactly WHAT. They've stumbled on the right idea, without even realizing it or having a context to put it in.
And it's made me start mulling a post on the whole concept of "me-time".
Sigh.
Thank you! I too find the phrase "Baby bump" offensive (along with "preggo" and such). And I agree with your comment about people wanting someone to love (and to love them back, don't forget that!) are not necessarily teenagers--and why this is so. MamaT's comment is an excellent extension of this post.
preach it, mamaT. i cannot wait to read your spin-off.
WORD!!!