Delaying Childbearing: Why it is Important to Have Children While in Co

Like many other women, I was raised in a family that repetitively told me that I needed to finish school before thinking about getting married, and definitely before having kids. This made sense when I became an adult, why not put all my focus into my schooling. Yet, for me that would mean that I would be in my early thirties when I finished school. This has become the norm for women to marry and have children in there 30s, then in years past, where they were in their early to mid-twenties. After completing my first bachelor’s degree, I got engaged; I was in a perfect place, and I was not going to hold off just so I could finish school. Now that I have been married for two years, successfully working and going to school, starting a family is important to me. If I were to follow what my parents told me, from this day, I would still have to wait 4-5 more years to finish school, and then start that family. Even though having kids in college could keep your from completing a degr ee, you should have children in college because delaying childbearing could affect fertility and the likelihood of pregnancy complications. College is perceived as a time for young adults to have fun, and having children before or during college would provide an obstacle of completing a college education. Four million college students have children, which is roughly 25 percent of all enrolled college students (Nelson, Froehner, and Gault 1). Although this is a large number, many students would prefer to focus on themselves. Today women face the dilemma of if they even would want to have children. Focuses on getting a degree, and starting a career is ever so important for many women to create their lives on. Waiting until you are settled in your career puts ... ...n in school has many problems, as well as advantages. First, the obvious reason is that having kids in college is a financial burden, along with the stresses of maintaining family life with college life. Secondly, many students that do have children while in school, unfortunately, do not finish their degree. Works Cited Balasch, Juan, and Eduard Gratacà ³s. "Delayed Childbearing: Effects On Fertility And The Outcome Of Pregnancy." Fetal Diagnosis & Therapy 29.4 (2011): 263-273. EBSCO MegaFILE. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. Cnattingius, Sven, et al. "Delayed childbearing and risk of adverse perinatal outcome: a population-based study." Jama 268.7 (1992): 886-890. Nelson, Bethany, Meghan Froehner, and Barbara Gault. College Students with Children Are Common and Face Many Challenges in Completing Higher Education. Mar: Institute For Women's Policy Research, Mar. 2013. PDF.