This topic is what "inspired" me to start this blog. I don't actually think "inspired" is the right word to use here. Maybe something like "enraged" is more appropriate.
Since finding out I'm pregnant, I've been doing what I suspect a lot of first-time mothers-to-be do: I surfed the internet and signed up for virtually every pregnancy app and forum out there. Some of them are great - with helpful features like symptom trackers that help you to know what's going on based on how far along you are. Many apps also come equipped with their very own "community" of pregnant women and mothers who keep the forums moving along with questions, advice, rants, photos, etc. These places seem like a wonderful resource - at first.
I'm approaching a time of life that is referred to by some professionals as "advanced maternal age." I turn 34 in about 3 weeks. Apparently after a woman turns 35, the odds of birth defects like Downs Syndrome increase when she, as the British refer to it, "falls pregnant." Within these pregnancy app forums, there are sometimes sub-groups for pregnant women over 35. I don't technically fit into these groups, but I prefer to spend time reading them rather than the riff raff I've found in just about EVERY OTHER TOPIC.
I can't even begin to describe how absolutely horrified I am by the rampant idiocy in the pregnancy forums, especially under the "First Time Mommy" headers. I realize that I am a bit over the hill compared to the average age of most first-time mothers, but by the looks of these posts, it seems that the "average age" is below 23 years old. This is a fine age to give birth, physically, and I'm sure that some ladies are plenty savvy and intelligent at that age, but you wouldn't know it by browsing these forums. The stupid is strong here, folks. Here are a few examples (misspellings, grammatical and punctuation errors included):
imtrulyblessed2013 says:
Heading - "what's the best part of been a mom for u"
Body - "Even know my baby girl is 11weeks is still so hard to believe I'm a mom.I love it so much.I've always had someone kids with me and had to let them go home I took care of so many babies in the pass 14 years some for hours, some for day, weeks, months, even a few years.Istill a few of them and some I haven't seen in a very long time. But nw I can be real mom to my baby girl and enjoy every minute of it and just love even more.. so blessed to have her in my life"
Bless this young girl's heart! I can tell she is full of love and cares for her baby girl deeply, which really is the most important quality in a mother, but for the love of god, I hope there are some latent smart genes passed on to that poor child.
Another user, jdesire23, wants us to vote on whether or not we like the name she has picked out for her baby girl. She asks:
"What do you think about Nevaeh Yenoh (Heaven backwards) (ee-noah which is honey backwards...Honey is my moms middle name) for a girl?"
Uhhhh, I think it's bullshit.
aricaball123 wants to know:
"I a, 5w and found out I am have a girl is that way to soon"
WTF?
And finally, dekelia_deon2's dilemma:
"I have sex with my boyfriend he was on top and he cum in me instead of pulling out and when we done have sex we put on our clothes right away will I still get pregnant"
I wish that these types of quandaries were unique or unusual, but sadly, they're most common. I'm afraid I'm going to have to either limit my time in the forums to just the "over 35" groups (sigh) or not pay attention to them at all. Why isn't there a place for people like me? You know, not quite over 35 but not a moron.
