Opinion |

Maybe a baby?

Controlling nature's impulses with logic

By Erin Morgan

Posted on Thursday, October 31st, 2002, 12:00 am

E-mail

Tell us what you think!
Send a letter to the editor about this or any other article in The Maine Campus.

Lately I’ve been having dreams about babies. This has led me to question the current state of my biological clock. A woman’s biological clock is an internal alarm that alerts her to the fact that she better have a baby before it’s too late. Most women experience the “ticking of the clock” around age 35. Given this information, could my clock be ticking away? At the tender age of 20, I find this rather hard to believe.

Plagued with curiosity, I turned to the Internet to do a little research on the subject. What I found was absolutely shocking. While most women start to feel the “tick” at age 35, it is indeed possible to notice it as early as birth. However, the latest research suggest that most women become aware of their clock in their late 20s, but can begin to feel it as early as 19.

So, after reading up on this topic, it seems very probable that my clock could be in full swing. Medical research aside, there are other factors that support this conclusion. For instance, years ago women were getting married and having babies as young as age 13 or 14. After all, most girls go through puberty around the age of 12. What’s more realistic, and hits even closer to home, is that my mother had a baby at my age. So if I had followed in her footsteps, I’d be holding a newborn this month. Woah, baby!

Alright, so maybe I’m not ready for a baby at this point in time, considering that I’ve only just begun my college career. It would ideally be better to wait until I am financially secure, and at least have the male part of the equation picked out. But baby fever is a hard thing to ignore, especially when a large percentage of your close friends are experiencing it too. I mean, what could be more fun than getting together on a Saturday night to take pregnancy tests together? Okay, that’s just sick.

So if the timing is all wrong, what can you do in terms of suppressing the “infant itch?” The alternatives are few and offer little gratification: baby-sit more often, volunteer at a day care center, befriend someone who already has a baby or con a parent or other family member into having another child. While these options may not be what you had in mind, they will keep you in close proximity to a wee babe and perhaps strengthen your parenting skills in the process.

Using your biological clock as the determining factor for when to have a baby is probably not the best way to go. So, while you may be feeling the strong pull of your clock, you should consider other external factors. For instance, many women these days are waiting until 35 or even older to have children. While these women may find it more difficult to get pregnant, they might also find it easier to support a child, statistically speaking.

Obviously people decide to procreate at different stages in their lives. Some people have children at a young age, some have children at an old age. Bear in mind, your biological clock is only a tiny indicator of when the right time to become a parent is. Ultimately, only you can decide when the time is right for you.

Erin Morgan is a sophomore journalism major.