No I am not pregnant, but maybe I should be?

Maybe I should have a baby?

This is a common thought that comes up for many women after they have been married for a while. As for me...I can wait. However, if I were to have a baby maybe Hungary would be a good place to have it. The government in Hungary recently brought back the maternity leave of three years instead of the two years. This is uniquely high even by European standards. To have this much maternity leave would be a dream. Back in the States you are lucky to get six weeks off or to even have maternity leave offered at all. My last job didn't even offer maternity leave--it was take all your sick/vacation time off and then come back to work.

"The government also introduced joint taxation for families as of January this year. Parents, and singles, with up to two children can deduct 62,500 Hungarian forints ($313) per child a month from their taxable income. Parents with three children or more can deduct more than three times the amount per every child a month." 

The idea of getting a tax break is reasonable in Hungary. The average Hungarian income is much less than the average US income. We make about a fourth of what we use to make in the States here in Hungary. Even that may be a generous estimate. So much of the Hungarian income goes towards living expenses and taxes that I'm surprised the government hasn't offered incentives like this before. 

If only the States would have such incentives for having children. Then again having a population problem like the one Hungary is facing is not something the US is having to deal with. 

"The number of newborn babies in Hungary fell 6.3% to 90,350 last year, according to official data. The government is determined to boost this number and put Hungary’s population back above 10 million."

Then again U.S. birth rates were at an all time low in the year 2010. The birth rate, which takes into account changes in the population, fell to 13.5 births for every 1,000 people last year. That's down from 14.3 in 2007 and way down from 30 in 1909, when it was common for people to have big families.
The situation is a striking turnabout from 2007, when more babies were born in the United States than any other year in the nation's history. The recession began that fall, dragging down stocks, jobs and births.

However, with 2011 predicted to be a better year for the U.S. and possibly the world economy the birth rates may go back up this year. It seems to me that every time I check Facebook a friend has either just given birth, just gotten pregnant or showing off their baby bump in progress. I suppose I am at the age where friends are getting married and/or having children. I want to post a picture of myself on Facebook and say, "Baby bump or just bloated? You tell me!" So many pictures of friends showing off their "bumps" seem silly to me. I kind of want to ask what's the point? But then again I'm not pregnant, so I guess I can't really understand the "thrill" of being with child yet. But when that day comes look out world I'm sure I'll be just as annoying as all the other Mom's-to-be out there! :)

To read the stories I pulled information from click on these links:

Hungary Wants More Children Story

U.S. Birth Rates at all time low