Having a Child: Joy or Pain? A Critical Analysis From Psychological and Spiritual Perspectives

https://spiritualseek.online/having-a-child-joy-or-pain-critical-analysis-of-procreation-from-a-psychological-and-spiritual-perspective/-----------Do I wish to have a child?Everyone, sooner or later, asks themselves this question. The majority answer yes, trying by all means, including the least ethical ones, to become parents, while only a small minority answer no and consciously choose not to procreate.What causes most individuals, regardless of their cultural background, nationality, and level of education, to beget children?Usually, people do not think about this question very long; in fact, most of the time they reproduce without even planning to do so. So many others, when asked this question, would answer with clichés, claiming that it is normal to have children and that, on the contrary, it is abnormal and suspicious for people to claim that they do not want them, especially when it is a woman who is doing so.The reasons for having a childGiving birth to a child may be an unplanned event, or it may be a couple’s thoughtful choice planned in advance. Here is a list of the most common reasons people give when asked why they want to become parents.Love: Many believe that having a child is an act of love toward their partner, God or the world as a whole. They want to materialize and manifest this feeling through offspring, giving tangible and concrete proof of their love.Ambition: For some people, becoming parents is simply a reason for living. They aspire to have a family of their own to create a perfect micro-world in which they can feel fulfilled. Sometimes it is a desire that they have cultivated since childhood, while in other instances it is merely an induced need that is probably inculcated by family, one’s partner or more generally by society.Having a role: Women, in particular, see motherhood as a means of carving out a vital role for themselves within the community. Being the custodians of life, caring for and raising a human being who could not survive without them, makes them feel indispensable, unique and helpful.Support: Some people are convinced that their descendants will be needed in the future when they will be in difficulty due to illness or old age, taking it for granted that their offspring will take care of their needs and always be available.Crisis: Other individuals conceive children to resolve a crisis. The birth of a child may prevent a couple from breaking up; in fact, the couple will no longer be engaged in dealing with their differences, but rather in caring for their progeny. Underlying this need may be individual imbalances caused by a sense of emptiness, feeling lonely, and the onset of boredom.Lineage: Then there are those who wish to create an offspring for a variety of reasons, including the need to pass down an inheritance or the desire to leave a mark of their passage in this world.Fear: Finally, we find those who become parents because they are subjugated by the fear of being marginalized by others if they do not have children, or by the fear of later regretting not having had them when they had the opportunity.Reproduction in the natural cycleRegardless of the motivation each of us tells himself or herself, procreation is not a choice but an instinct; the choice, perhaps, might be not to procreate. In fact, we refer to it by the expression “maternal instinct”. It is a primal disposition, a need to be satisfied, like thirst or hunger, which is shared, albeit to different degrees, by all living beings, whether animals, microorganisms or plants. Nature exploits the reproductive instinct endowed to every living being to perpetuate itself. To beget an offspring is simply to indulge...