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> The poorest people have the most kids

And why is this is a question we should answer. Inability to afford birth control? Sex as the one redeeming "happy" thing after slaving away for a guy who wears a suit 5 days per week? Religion also plays a part -- lots of mainstream religions eschew birth control such as condoms and lots of poor people are religious. Are they poor because they have so many kids?

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I read an article a long time ago that was a series of interviews with poorer women who had multiple kids asking the same question. The answer surprised and stuck with me. The women had children they could not afford because it gave them status (a role to play in society) and meaning. They were Moms, and Moms had a degree of respect in their communities that single childless women did not have. Also - their children loved them, and with their children they were not alone and unloved. In an economic scenario where their prospects were unlikely to change having children provided them with love and status / a role in society.

I'm reasonably certain that it is not just the poor who have children as status symbols.

Every assumption in this post sounds out of touch.

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