> I wonder, is there any kind of ideology behind these women's family sizes,
> like valuing number of offspring more than the health of the offspring or
> the mother?
>
As usual, I like the way you put things, Rachel. I could say lots about
the ideology behind my family size -- I was thinking about this when
reading about a program to limit population growth, and remembering some
very negative comments I have heard. Recognizing the comments for or
against large families as a subtext in a global conversation is a much
more interesting way of considering such comments. When I hear about
whole groups, rather than individual radicals, having large families, I
do think that it has something to do with women's status in society; for
some reason, in societies or populations in which women have a lot of
children, the contribution of women to society seems to be seen as being
lesser than in other groups. (Ironic, isn't it?) I am thinking about
Adrienne Rich's comment about what would happen to the world if a woman
becomes "the presiding genius of her own body..." which is, precisely,
what these women seem *not* to be.
I, too, was initially attracted to the "mother - baby rest home" idea;
it reminded me of a similar setting in Germany in which a friend of mine
is working and a business plan we once had for "supportive housing". But
it doesn't work as we would like it to, and I have great admiration for
people like Jessica who are trying to (and will, because any energy
creates more) make it better.
When I think about women who come to these environments, I wonder if
this is the only time they get any support for their well-being. My own
mother used to like hospital stays after childbirth for this. She felt
pampered and admired. I hated them, but then, for most of my children I
had my mother to provide the support. Few people are mothered by their
own mothers when they give birth, these days.
Jo-Anne Elder-Gomes, PhD on Myths of Identity in Women's Writing, and an
avid decipherer of sub- and other texts.

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