Maybe Baby: 28 Writers Tell the Truth About Skepticism, Infertility, Baby Lust, Childlessness, Ambivalence, and How They Made the Biggest Decision of Their Lives

With questions in my head forming on whether or not to have a baby, and if so when, I ordered this book hoping to gain some insight and perspective. "Maybe Baby" was an interesting read, though more entertaining than truly decision forming. I enjoyed many of the stories outlined in the book's pages and felt it definitely provided me with some good food for thought. I also thought it was great that the stories came from both women and men, giving it a more wholesome feel.My personal conclusion - If you're trying to decide on whether or not you want to or should have a baby, this book is probably not going to guide you toward finding an answer. However, if you have a general idea as to which direction you're leaning toward, these real-life stories will help re-affirm or get you questioning your motives for wanting to have a baby. If nothing else, the stories are well written, real and worth reading.

As a happily married woman in my late 20s, I'm bombarded with questions of when I'm going to start having babies. The desire to have a child (let alone more than one) has not materialized and I'm starting to doubt it ever will. This has been a hard discovery for me, as I used to believe every woman just feels the urge to procreate. I'm starting to accept that I may never feel that urge, but I'm not all that comfortable with it.When I ran across this book, I was looking for some insight into why people choose to have kids because I've never understood it, and also for some insight into whether I might regret it down the road if I don't have children. I expected a balance of Yays and Nays in "Maybe Baby," but what I wasn't expecting was the breadth of different circumstances and viewpoints in it. My mind was certainly opened by the authors' deeply personal and thoughtful essays.I'd recommend this book to anyone considering becoming a parent, whether you think you may want children or not.

I bought this book because I'm on the fence and leaning towards no kids. Without friends and family with small children I wanted to read about how children could enrich your lives or things you might get out of having them so I liked the idea of a book that presented several angles on whether to take the plunge. On the whole, I found the pro side of the book very disheartening. Most of the writers seemed to talk about how hard things were, what an ordeal having children was, etc. There was very little joy and happiness represented. A fascinating read but not as balanced as I would have liked.

As a twenty-something year old who's constantly contemplating whether or not to have kids, this collection really catalyzed some dialogue and thought. The ups and downs:Up- I really appreciated the honesty- A total lack of judgement either way- Great writing; so often this sort of stuff is written in mediocre blogs and magazine articles. These were legit authors taking on a serious topicDown- I really wish the "no baby" crowd was better represented; there were definitely more stories about those who chose to have childrenGreat, quick read that won't push you over the fence but will help you realize what side you want to fall to.

Having a child is a huge decision, and yet there is little candid discussion about it in society, so this book is a great contribution. All of the essays are incredibly well written, and very honest. If this is a subject that interests you, you may well read it in one sitting. (I did.)The book also aims to expore a wide diversity of experiences and feelings on the subject. The gamut includes: 1) a rather shocking essay from a feminist professor who intentionally gets her tubes tied when quite young, seemingly to make a statement; 2) an essay from a Latina woman whose child struggles with a diagnosis of autism, and her subsequent inability to accept the diagnosis; 3) genuinely funny essays, covering everything from the (entertaining) reasons certain people never got around to having kids, to the joys of roadtrips with them.

This just wasn't the book for me. Maybe it was because it was filled with stories by writers that I couldn't easily relate to (one who decides to become sterilized at 30, one who is bipolar, one who is in jail, one who gets pregnant by a man in jail, etc etc.). I'm not judging these people, but I don't feel like they reflect the norm. I also feel like the authors didn't make a strong case for the category they fell into (yes, no or uncertain). So for me personally, it did not help solve my "maybe baby" dilemma.

I am a young woman who is thinking a lot about having a child and what that will mean in my life. I am also in a relationship with a partner who is not as "interested" right now as I am in this huge topic. I turned to this book for "conversations" on parenthood and that is exactly what it offered. Maybe Baby includes many different ideas about having and not having kids and the uncertainty in between. I found these essays to be entertaining and thought provoking; I look forward to passing this book on to my partner and discussing our favorite installments.

It's a compilation of short stories, so you can read it in segments. I whipped through it in two days. Most of the stories are by writers, resulting in many very well-written accounts. I felt relief knowing I'm not the only one who - at 33 - thinks "maybe not". I enjoyed how the book covers the no's, the maybes, and the yes's to this choice.

Wow, this might just be the best essay collection I’ve ever read. It’s something that essay collections should always be in my opinion: varied. Why people want, do not want, are not sure whether they should have or can’t have children has very much to do with their environment and their pasts. This shouldn’t be news to anyone, however, I think people tend to forget how different the world seems to almost everybody else. I’m talking about those who want all others to live just like them. I do not understand this. What works for me doesn’t necessarily work for everybody else and some things that work for others surly don’t work for me.“Maybe Baby” really opened up my horizon: I didn’t know about selective reduction before reading this book. (When you’re pregnant with triplets you can reduce the number of embryos.) What do you do when you’re pregnant, but your husband is in prison? Is it really a good idea to have a baby when your 90-year-old grandma has just moved in with you and your husband? Are you willing to move away from Paris to have a kid?I bet that there is no one in the world for whom all of these questions are relevant, but I think it’s amazing how many different questions there are. They’ve inspired me to ask myself: What are the questions I want to have answered before I dare to try to become a parent.

This book gave insight into three different opinions of having children: no, maybe and yes. It's important to have all views but I do wish there were a few more personal stories/viewpoints from those that didn't want children.