Child bearing is a thing of joy most couples cherish. It is tormenting to witness when families are denied this blessing. The beauty of love carries us away when we discover that we are expecting a child. We quickly brace up and open our minds to welcome the responsibility of parenthood. The acceptance of parenthood shows a sign of maturity. The poor, in many cases, seem to neglect this realisation.
There is nothing wrong with couples having as many children as they can emotionally and financially support. The issue is when they mindlessly give birth to children as if it takes air to raise them. This behaviour often has roots in culture and religion.
Interestingly, in this matter, there is the folly of social pressure, especially when couples have babies because they can, or because it makes them feel that they are better than others. By the way, one cannot prevent poverty in families that have more children than they can support.
One frequently comes across a poor couple who has five or six children and the wife is pregnant again. The apparent difficulty they have raising the children makes one wonder why they should be looking for another. Perhaps, it is out of ignorance.
However, one positive side of a poor large family is that one or two children occasionally manage to become successful. The wretchedness the family is subjected to still does not justify this choice of having many children. We live in a modern era where planning of limited resources is required to make living pleasurable. The burden of raising too many children prevents poor parents from getting out of poverty, instead, they descend lower. Prudence is needed to bypass unnecessary hardship. Life is not easy as it seems. The era is gone for one to believe it is a sin to plan one’s family.
- Pius Okaneme,
Anambra State.
and then