Sunday, May 13, 2018

#Mothers and the Future by Diane Burton



Happy Mother’s Day to all you mothers and to all the mothers you know!

Mothers come in all shapes, sizes, and ages. There are mothers who gave birth and mothers of the heart. I’m fortunate to have had a wonderful mother and a terrific mother-in-law. I’m doubly fortunate to be mother to two great adult children and to their spouses who call me Mom.

I’m sure we all know couples who long for children but physically cannot have them. Some will go through expensive procedures to have a child from in vitro fertilization to surrogate motherhood. Some couples adopt.

Motherhood is not for the faint of heart. Starting with conception, we have worries and physical pain. The older we are the higher the risks. Two of my grandchildren were lost in miscarriages. The emotional pain expectant mothers go through upon that loss is immeasurable. Childbirth is no picnic, either. In my mother’s day, doctors slapped chloroform on a woman, and the next thing she knew she had a baby. I come from the generation that wanted everything natural. No drugs. We were tough. 😊 And, of course, the father would be in the delivery room instead of pacing the waiting room or off fishing.



Giving birth does not equal motherhood. Raising a child is a lifelong occupation. It’s a good thing we didn’t realize what we were in for when we longed for a child. Worry didn’t end with the pregnancy but exploded as the child grew. And let’s not even go into the expense of raising that child.

Advances in medicine (and attitude) are growing all the time. Think about the advances in your lifetime. What about the future? As a science fiction writer, my imagination can come up with many scenarios. My colleagues imagine even more. We writers play the “what if” game.

What if everyone who wanted a child could have one? What if a woman didn’t have to carry her child? Extend fertilization outside the mother’s body so the whole gestational period was also outside. No inconvenience of frequent trips to the bathroom, gestational diabetes, exhaustion, plus the expense of a new wardrobe. You carried on with your life and popped into the lab occasionally to watch the fetus mature. No waiting for an ultrasound to show what s/he looked like. Also, no pain of childbirth. No drugs, either. You get a call from the lab saying your baby is ready to be picked up. Sort of like a car from the dealership.

Whatever the future brings, our future as humans depends on mothers. 



Motherhood is my greatest accomplishment, my greatest pleasure. Grandmotherhood is even better. 😊




7 comments:

Francesca Quarto said...

Love being both mother and grandmother, all at a distance now that I'm out of the area. Glad to be home at my keyboard after an enforced family reunion/vacation.
Happy Mother's Day all!

Francesca Q.

Diane Burton said...

Happy Mother's Day to you, Francesca.

S.K. Dubois said...

Such a thoughtful post, Diane. I'm going to become a first-time grandma in October. We already know the baby is a girl and will have long legs just like her mom. We know she is on track for a healthy delivery in October--on my birthday possibly. My daughter is getting care I never dreamed of with little cost since she is in Germany--taxes, of course, but not much when she goes for care. So many changes in the medical part of giving birth and so much more knowledge about what makes a healthy baby and it gives me hope for the future in many ways. Thanks for your Mother's Day post and Happy Mom Day to you.

Maureen said...

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms!
When my twins were little, I asked them if it knew what it meant to be twins and one said, "Yes. One of us was in your belly and one of us was in Daddy's belly." lol! Gives a whole new twist on childbirth, lol.

Diane Burton said...

Sorchia, how wonderful that you'll be a grandmother soon. October is a great month. Besides my birthday LOL our twin grandsons were born in October last year. I hope the best for her and Baby Girl.

Diane Burton said...

Maureen, that is priceless. Definitely a new twist.

Unknown said...

Great post, Diane!

Happy Mother's Day!

What was the movie where Arnold was pregnant? That was funny, Maureen!