Introduction ix
1. Children Come from Us: What's so special about having kids? 1
2. Life Is Good: Are babies lucky to be born or just the opposite? 15
3. Quantity Control: Must we care about population statistics? 31
4. Quality Control: Should we mess with nature? 47
5. In the Beginning: What's going on in there? 67
6. A Child Is Born: Is labor pain simply awful? 85
7. Whose Child Is This? Why do biological parents have prerogatives? 99
8. Nobody's Child: Does biology really matter? 117
9. Parenthood's Aim: What's a parent for? 133
10. First Decisions: To cut or not to cut? 151
11. Still Life with Child: Who's going to care for the baby? 171
12. Boys and Girls: Is it okay to prefer a girl or a boy? Should parents reinforce gender? 187
13. The One and the Many: When must I contribute to group efforts? 209
14. Lies, Lies, Lies: Should we ever lie to our children … or for them? 231
15. Passing on Religion: Should we raise children in our own image? 245
16. Letting Go: What should we do for our grown children? 259
17. Going Home: What should our grown children do for us? 269
18. Parenthood and Meaning: Does parenthood make us better off? 277
Acknowledgments 293
Annotated Bibliography 295
Index 315