...is essentially gone. You're on your own these days.
https://old.reddit.com/r/Showerthoughts/comments/1v9bgrh/women_dont_want_children_anymore_because_the/
inspectorpickle:
Money is the first and most obvious concern but imo it's also rooted in the atomization of society that OP is referencing. The mental, financial, and physical toll is lessened when you have a community.
CypripediumGuttatum:
Absolutely. We have lost our social support net, families are farther apart and there are fewer members to help out. I live 20 minutes away from some of ours, and three hours away from the next closest. People used to live on the same street or in the same house as their extended families.
Debbie: Bingo!
We lived 100 yards from my grandparents. My birth was really hard. My mom lost a lot of blood and couldn't deal. Very fatigued and rundown. When she was struggling, she told the older kids to "go to grams" and aged 4, 7 and 8 they walked themselves over. My mom told me once, "I never would have made it through those first months without your grandmother."
Meanwhile, my wife's parents had kids without a single family member on the same continent. They remained hyper risk-sensitive all their lives. No margin for error in their scenario.