She is aware of that critical decision that will take her into the next phase in her life. However she isn’t ready to compromise on her priorities and thinks this decision can wait for a while until she fulfills the rest of her dreams. Meet the new Indian urban married woman. The lady who’s not guilty to admit that she would like to step into motherhood much later than the set notions of the society. Increasingly many women in their twenties are postponing their pregnancy into their early thirties, a trend which is in complete contrast to the earlier times.
Blame it on several options or opportunities available. Be it career, education, or the passion to lead lives themselves without any strings attached; more and more women are taking the stand that postponing pregnancy is not bad for them.
Take, for instance, the case of Manjula Amarnath a professional in her late twenties, “I work in a public sector bank and it has been just a year and half since I have got married and definitely would like to spend more time with my hubby right now before I can decide on a baby.”
Whether it is spending more quality time with their partners or getting settled financially there are enough reasons cited by couples as the reason for opting late pregnancy. “ Societal pressures make women think of having a baby immediately after marriage. But these days one is able to decide for oneself in consultation with their partner and have a baby once they know their partner well enough”, comments Rekha Shetty, a 28-year-old homemaker.
On one hand there are women like Nisha Prasanna who say, “I am 26 years old right now and can think of getting pregnant only after 3-4 years. My hubby is studying for his post-graduation and the need of the hour is that we need to concentrate on making our lives better, only post that can we think of extending our family.”
But what do doctors have to say on the right age to become pregnant? While making a strong point, Srimani Rajagopalan, gynaecologist at the Bangalore Hospital says, “Yes, we are coming across a lot of women who are willing to postpone their first pregnancy. However to avoid age-related complications in pregnancy one should ideally go in for a child between the age group of 25-30years.”
But for young optimistic women like Smitha Roy, any suggestion on early pregnancy does not seem to affect her decision. “If you are living a fairly healthy lifestyle and are having regular check-ups with your doctor, I feel you can wait until you are 31 or 32 years old. Also, I am not ready to get the feeling later on that I should have achieved or done a particular thing long before my pregnancy. I do want to achieve quite a bit and settle down emotionally before having a baby. Once the baby arrives, obviously he or she will be my complete focus.”
The point to be noted is that more women like Smitha feel that one should go in for pregnancy only when they are emotionally and financially sound. Her final statement brings out the conviction of urban women opting for pregnancy only when they want to. “ I don’t want to get pregnant out of societal pressure, it should be my own choice.”
The reasons given are varied; better financial status, emotional strength, climbing the ladder of success in career or just wanting to spend more time with their partners, more and more women have made their decision and are convinced that it is the right one. Their situation a decade from now in their lives will surely confirm this decision.