balmofgilead

the idea of giving birth and raising children began to seem almost a retro, labor-intensive enterprise, like growing your own vegetables or sewing your own clothes.

-from a salon.com article

My mother said once that children are really a luxury today and serve no real purpose - large families used to be necessary (or at least helpful) so there would be enough people to work on family farms. Technically it's sort of true, but it's silly, really.