As a science journalist I'm reconsidering having kids. I'm not the only one

"I'm running out of time, but I'm also not gonna be like, 'I'm having a baby for the sake of having a baby,'" said the younger of the two. "One thing I would recommend," replied the older woman, "if it's an option: freeze your eggs." As a woman, you get to a certain age and babies – hypothetical, expected, realised – suddenly seem ubiquitous: in friendship circles, on social media, in targeted advertising for pregnancy tests and public health messages. But for women of my generation, the decision whether to have children feels more existentially fraught and morally complex than ever before. I have always wanted kids. I have always felt an uncomplicated joy at the chubbiness of babies' limbs and the infectiousness of a child's laughter.