Table of contents:
- What should be considered when deciding to have another child?
- 1. Distance between pregnancies
- 2. Mother's age
- 3. Financial capacity
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of having only one child?
- The advantages of having an only child
- Disadvantages of having only children
Having one or two or three or more children is not an easy decision to make. You and your partner should discuss it first, it could be that you and your partner's desires are different. Moreover, there are many considerations that must be considered before deciding whether to become pregnant again or not.
What should be considered when deciding to have another child?
There are many things that you have to consider when you want to have more children or not. Having one child may make it easier for you to raise children, but having more than one child may make your family more colorful.
Before deciding to get pregnant again, you should first consider the following things.
1. Distance between pregnancies
Getting pregnant again with a further pregnancy distance that is too close can be risky for you and your baby later. The distance between subsequent pregnancies and previous pregnancies of less than one year can increase the chances of the baby being born prematurely. Premature babies have various health risks. Pregnancy that is longer than one year can provide more opportunities for your body to recover after giving birth to your first child. So, you and your baby stay healthy in future pregnancies.
Using contraceptives for at least 6 weeks after giving birth is the best way to prevent unwanted pregnancies whether or not you are considering getting pregnant again. Breastfeeding your newborn baby can also be a natural means of contraception because breastfeeding can prevent pregnancy. Hormones that trigger milk production can suppress ovulation, making it more difficult for you to get pregnant while still breastfeeding.
WHO recommends continuing breastfeeding for up to 2 years. Therefore, 2 years may be a good pregnancy distance for you. You are not sacrificing the needs of your first baby who is growing and you can also provide better health conditions in your next pregnancy.
2. Mother's age
If you are 38 years or older and you want to have 2 children, you may not have to wait years to get pregnant again, you just have to wait 1 year after giving birth to your first child to get pregnant again. Remember, the older you get when you become pregnant, the more pregnancy risks you can experience.
However, if you are still under your 30, you still have plenty of time to decide when to have more children or not. You can set the next pregnancy interval 2 years, 3 years, or even 4 years from your first pregnancy. Getting pregnant again at the age of 30 years and under still has a low risk of health problems and pregnancy is also easy to achieve.
3. Financial capacity
One of the things you should definitely consider getting pregnant again is finance. Yes, to raise children of course you need money. Even though money is not everything, you certainly want to raise children in a stable financial condition. You may need to save some money before deciding when to have another child. This can help you plan for your family's future.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of having only one child?
Most families think one child is not enough. Many families dream of having many children in their family. However, in line with what the Indonesian government recommends, many families also think that having 2 children is enough.
Many families argue that the decision to have 2 children is taken so that the child has a playmate or the child does not grow up to be a spoiled figure. However, according to Bill McKibben, author of the book “Maybe One: An Environmental and Personal Argument for Single-Child Families”, single children tend to do better in school, especially in science, mathematics and literature, have many friends, and have a lot of friends. more flexible thinking about gender roles, as reported by the Baby Center.
The advantages of having an only child
The other advantages of having an only child are:
- Children are very close and have a good relationship with their parents
- Only children get the best of their parents because parents only focus on one child
- Only children also get full attention from parents
- Only children do not have problems with other siblings, there may also be less clashes in the family
- Only children will not experience competition or be compared with other siblings
Disadvantages of having only children
Behind all of that, of course there are drawbacks if you have an only child, namely:
- Only children may feel lonely because they don't have siblings to play with at home
- Only children can get too much pressure from parents because parents want their children to be who they want them to be
- Parents tend overprotective in his only child
- Only children may be bored with the involvement of parents in all aspects of life
- Parents only depend on or are accompanied by one child in their parents' future
Again, the decision to become a parent with only children or more is a decision between you and your partner. What's more, the decision to become a parent is already a big decision. Having one, two, three, or more is equally important depending on your abilities. Remember, no matter how many children you have, it is your responsibility as a parent to raise them.
