Many have been telling me that I gave birth 4 months too early. No, my baby was not born premature. He was born at 39 weeks of gestation and he is fine.

Why 4 months too early? See, I live in Germany. Had I been scheduled to give birth 4 months later, it would mean that I am due to give birth in January 2007. Which means a lot... of money.

"Parents of babies born in Germany on or after Jan. 1 will benefit from generous new federal family subsidies."

"Under the new Elterngeld, or "parents money" law, parents who stay home to look after the new-born child will receive 67 percent of their last net income tax-free, or up to €1,800 ($2,380) a month, for the first 12, or in some cases 14, months after the birth."

Since I gave birth in August, I was only given 6 months of elterngeld worth €300 per month.

See the difference? No wonder many have been asking their doctors and/or their hebamme (doula) to help them delay their baby's birth.

As for me... well, I may be getting a lot of money less but it's okay. I am pretty happy with the baby I have in my arms right now.

Anyway, this new law is supposed to encourage Germans to have more babies. I see one problem, though. There is still not enough child care (not to mention the fact that it costs a 3x the normal child care, should you be lucky enough!) available for children under 3 years old. This fact also affects the decision of citizens who are considering to have kids or not.

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