Public Service Announcement: People's reproductive plans are none of your business.
In a Sept. 20 Facebook post, writer Emily Bingham used a random ultrasound picture to get her friends' attention. In the caption, she urged people to think twice before asking about another person's plans to have (or not have) children.
"You don't know who is struggling with infertility or grieving a miscarriage or dealing with health issues," Bingham wrote. "You don't know who is having relationship problems or is under a lot of stress or the timing just isn't right. You don't know who is on the fence about having kids or having more kids. You don't know who has decided it's not for them right now, or not for them ever. You don't know how your seemingly innocent question might cause someone grief, pain, stress or frustration."
Bingham told the Detroit Free Press that she wrote the post out of frustration at how people spoke to her and her peers about what should be considered a very personal matter.
"I'm 33," she said. "I've never been married. I've had people say things like, 'You're getting older, do you want to have kids? Your clock is ticking.' I think I finally felt mad enough about it to say something."
In her post, Bingham encouraged people to stop themselves from asking questions that could cause others grief.
"If a person wants to let you in on something as personal as their plans to have or not have children, they will tell you," she wrote. "If you're curious, just sit back and wait and let them do so by their own choosing, if and when they are ready."
See the full post here.
H/T Daily Mail
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