I was 24 when Gunner Anoreth was born - she’ll be 22 this March. I was 45 when Tiny Pink Kathleen was born - she’s 1 today. Anesthesia, antibiotics, and air conditioning! That’s all one needs, plus the long-term warranty on the washer and dryer. And vaccines.
Yeah, life can be hard ... but by my grandparents’ standard? No way. My great-aunt had a DIESEL washing machine, and did wash for money. “I had to get John to come back from the field at lunch time and fix the washer. Then Lee Ballance didn’t pay me.”
I come from small families: Dad was an only child, out in Missouri, and Mom was one of two in Philadelphia. My grandparents came from the big families (5 in Missouri, 11 in Ireland). That was HARD. Now? It’s nothing to have a large family, by historical standards. I have a priest friend in Ethiopia: half his parents children died, and his parents are barely older than I am.