Competitive Birthing

I was shocked, while housecleaning on Sunday morning, to hear this segment on NPR about competitive birthing. I guess this is a new way to flash one's Benjamins around. Can you imagine having children because of misplaced career competitiveness?

I have a pair of married friends who tried very hard to get pregnant for quite some time. Now, they are parents of two beautiful twin boys. These children were brought into this world because of the love that my friends share. They are a wonderful, intimate little family unit. I find this "competitive birthing" concept to be especially insulting when I think about my friends, their personal struggle, and the ultimate joy they have found as a family. This is not to say that the moms and dads who are creating life ala assembly line don't love their children. It just feels really unnatural to me and kind of Stepford-like. Actually, it's worse than that. It's one thing to keep up with the Jones' if you are using inanimate things like gardening equipment and such, but real, live, human beings? This just proves that becoming a parent later in life is the way to go.