Nowadays, more and more people decide to have children later in their lives. What do you think are the reasons for this? Do the advantages of the trend outweigh the disadvantages?

Currently, postponing baby-bearing is becoming progressively universal, especially in some Asian countries where

people

are facing overwhelming living pressure. From my perspective, one primary

reason

for delaying

pregnancy

is the high

cost

of living, and postponing baby-bearing can help alleviate the pressure, and contribute to the next generation's development. That the

cost

of upbringing is increasingly high has long since not been news,

however

, few foresaw that the situation would develop so rapidly.

According to

research conducted by Economists in 2023, over 60% of interviewers from Asian countries, like China, Japan, or South Korea, suggested that they would not consider

pregnancy

before 26, in South Korea the average age even reached 30. The most preferred

reason

for

this

choice is an economic concern, including the

cost

of purchasing an estate, offering the next generation high-quality education, and ensuring themselves enough pensions. Undoubtedly other factors

also

play a role in the trend of delaying baby-bearing,

such

as increasingly more women entering universities, and the extension of expecting lifetime, but the research conducted by Economists indicates that economic concern remains the predominant

reason

. Most columns will follow the statistics above mentioned that given that

people

are putting off

pregnancy

, those countries will face the challenge of an ageing society, and thereby

people

ought to give birth to more babies.

However

,

this

kind of proposal is purely out of utilitarism without any concern for the individuals' own happiness and dignity. What we have to bear in mind when considering the advantages and disadvantages of the issue is that humans, as Kant said, are the end in themselves, not a means to any other purpose, and

therefore

, in light of postponing

pregnancy

can provide

people

with better economic conditions and education opportunities, a country's prosperity is not the

reason

for

people

to bring forward their

pregnancy

plans. To summarise, I would argue that exorbitant living

cost

is the predominant

reason

for

people

to delay

pregnancy

.

Furthermore

, the postponement can effectively mitigate the young couples' living pressure, and thereby I support

this

trend

that is

a wise decision.