Have concerns about the environment and COVID-19 affected your thoughts about having a child?
As if it hadn’t already been daunting enough to consider parenthood in light of lack of parental paid leave, child care and housing expenses; college debts and underemployment, these issues are making things even harder. Environmental experts make it clear: never giving birth (or not having a second child) is the best gift you can give the world.
According to researcher Kimberly Nicholas of the University of Lund in Sweden, “having one less child” has a far greater impact on the environment than any other action a family can take. Giving up a car, nixing airplane travel, and avoiding meat, in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th places respectively, have minor impact when compared to procreation. “The reason for that is that this measure accounts for all the choices that that child would make in their life—and their descendants,” Nicholas explained in an NPR interview. She warns that most countries’ environmental efforts aren’t addressing overpopulation as they should.
credit: NationalPost.com and IOP.org. (Click to Enlarge)
Parenthood decision makers have two concerns: “Will we hurt the environment by adding another child who will bring generations of carbon footprints?” And “Is the world safe enough for a child?” This question addresses not only the environment, but also racism, political unrest, violence, materialism, and pressures to be perfect parents.
Here are some guidelines:
If you are leaning toward remaining childfree, consider helping the environment by giving more weight to the choice that was already your strongest one. To meet your interest in nurturing, consider “social parenting,” nurturing nieces, nephews, or friends’ children; or teaching, mentoring, or volunteer work.
If you are leaning toward parenting, you might consider:
- Adopting instead of giving birth
- Having one biological child and adopting any additional children.
While the adoption process is difficult, time-consuming, and often expensive, it can be very satisfying. Some organizations offer adoption scholarships, and some methods of adoption are less expensive than others. For information about adoption (as well as fertility, see Creating a Family.org.
Are there ways to help the environment even if you do have a child? Many experts believe that it’s not too late to save the planet, and some people think that having a child is a hopeful act. They follow the rules of green living and teach their children about environmental stewardship. These families do volunteer work in organizations such as Climate Change for Families, Dear Tomorrow, and Our Children’s Trust. They encourage their children to become environmental scientists, advocates, and policy makers.
COVID-19 and Your Baby Decision
Just as you may be questioning bringing a child into a troubled world in general, the virus has threatened our lives and narrowed our daily living. Because of the quarantine, people in the process of parenting are intimidated by the intensity of parents working from home, without school, child care, or play dates. If anything could make parenting look even scarier than it already did, this is it. A sample of what they see and comment on: bored, whiny young children interrupting work teleconferences, surly teenagers sneaking out without a mask. They may have friends who are pregnant and terrified of getting the virus, passing it onto their child, or having births that are complicated by virus considerations such as hospital safety.
For others, the crisis has made parenting more appealing, often from observation of siblings’ or friends’ children. They have been so moved by these families’ love, closeness, adaptability and resilience during the crisis, that they are even more attracted to parenthood. For other decision-makers, losing or nearly losing a parent or grandparent makes them long to bring new life, joy and hope into the family. Nevertheless, people are reluctant to make long-term plans based on the current crisis.
If you are considering getting pregnant soon, you may take heart in the evidence that pregnant women are no more likely than anyone else to get the virus, and so far babies seem to be fine. The biggest concerns are about safe births, the emotional stress of managing their pregnancies in such dangerous times, and the inability of partners, grandparents and friends to see the baby. These are big problems in and of themselves, of course, but you may take heart from the statistics. For a good summary of up-to-moment research on pregnancy and birth during COVID-19, visit Emily Oster’s website.
Even if you’re leaning toward getting pregnant:
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- Consider delaying trying for six months to a year until life is safer and somewhat back to normal.
- Contact your OB-GYN, and primary care physician to discuss safety and how to proceed.
- Read media coverage of pregnancies and childbirth to give yourself an idea of the possible joys and terrors of being pregnant now. These stories may inspire your hope or make you more determined to wait.
It’s your turn now. Please comment. How have the environment and COVID-19 affected your decision? Do you have an issue or question? I am eager to talk with you about this.
An invitation:
Please join us at The Decision Café, my new private Facebook group, and add your voice to the discussion. I can’t wait to see you there!
Links and Resources:
This article tackles the parenthood decision directly:
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190920-the-couples-reconsidering-kids-because-of-climate-change
These articles help parents talk to kids about the environment and how to work with their kids and environmental organizations to help the planet:
Scienceline.org: Today’s Children Will Inherit a Climate Changed Planet
Washingtonpost.com: How Climate Experts Think About Raising Children Who Will Inherit a Planet in Crisis
Washingtonpost.com: Parents Can’t Fix Climate Change with Life Hacks But Here Are Ways to Make a Real Impact
