It really has become a national disaster and everyone is too afraid to admit it so that we can do something about it.
I had a niece who became pregnant while unmarried. My first question was “Will you be getting married?”. Her response was something to the effect that she was not ready for the commitment of marriage. I have seen this attitude among women for years now. They don’t seem to realize that having a baby is a much bigger commitment than marriage and will bind two together for the life of that child.
I talked to her about this, explained that without being married, she and the baby were more likely to live in poverty, especially since she had no real skills to obtain a well paying job. I also spoke to her about how important it was for children to have both parents in the home.
They did eventually marry and things seem to be working out. But her cavalier attitude about marriage and children is epidemic.
I wonder if your niece’s story is really somewhat different. Could it be she wasn’t sure she wanted to spend the rest of her life with that particular guy? Or maybe he wasn’t ready to commit?
Girls date lots of guys they’d never consider marrying. Then if they get pregnant it’s kind of awkward to say you don’t really love them. It’s more ‘socially acceptable’ to use an excuse of not ready for commitment.