# Were you an accident? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 1, 2010, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-an-accident/552316 "2010-09-01T21:49:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TheTerribleTako](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@TheTerribleTako](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheTerribleTako)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-an-accident/552316/41 "2010-09-02T01:59:16Z")
Another accidental baby here. It was a rough time in my parent’s marriage and they had originally planned for my sister to be an only child. My mom even considered aborting me, but she had a talk with her sister and the sister convinced her to keep me (thanks, Auntie) and who knows, maybe it would be a boy this time. I arrived sans penis. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-an-accident/552316/42 "2010-09-02T02:00:56Z")
My parents weren’t yet married when my brother was conceived and they were in the middle of their divorce when I was conceived. I’m _pretty_ sure we were accidents. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-an-accident/552316/43 "2010-09-02T02:03:06Z")
> [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > > [@Chefguy](#): > > > > At about age 10, my sister got married. > > Isn’t 10 a bit young to get married? 😉 Reminds me of a hillbilly joke: She: Honey, what’s a pedophile? He: Hey now, sweetie, that’s an awfully big word for an 8-year old, doncha think? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-an-accident/552316/44 "2010-09-02T02:21:10Z")
I was planned, but my wife was informed early and often by her mother that she was an accident, the result of the condom breaking. She believes she was never told she was a ‘happy accident’ either. She’s still rather hurt by the way it was presented all her life. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-an-accident/552316/45 "2010-09-02T02:21:45Z")
Yes, and no. My parents wanted kids, but apparently my mother had been told she wouldn’t be able to have any without a lot of difficulty, so when she did get pregnant, they were happy, but weren’t planning for something they thought wouldn’t happen without medical intervention. As it turned out, it only happened once, so my sibling is another yes, and no, due to adoption. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-an-accident/552316/46 "2010-09-02T02:29:08Z")
I’ve always assumed I was an accident, since my mom was quite young. But I think it wasn’t an entirely unexpected accident- they knew the possibility and figured what happened happened. ---
**Author:** ![torie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@torie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torie)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-an-accident/552316/47 "2010-09-02T03:33:27Z")
My dad wanted to wait seven years after they were married to have kids, but one night they weren’t as vigilant with the birth control as they could have been. Afterwards, my dad told my mom he was “worried”. 9 months later, I was born. My parents loved me very much and I’m sure I was very much wanted by the time I was born. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-an-accident/552316/48 "2010-09-02T03:48:09Z")
> [@Gil-Martin](#): > > Yes and no. > > I was adopted on purpose. 🙂 ha ha, you beat me to it. I was going to say, “I’m adopted, so yes. And no.” ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-an-accident/552316/49 "2010-09-02T04:01:00Z")
I was unwanted by my mother who was among the pioneering generation of professional working women due to WWII and of the lesser desired sex by my father. I knew that my father had hoped for a boy very early in my life, but it wasn’t until my mother was dying that I asked her if she hadn’t wanted children. Ultimately not a sad story. Just took us a while to get all the rough edges smoothed out and we said our final goodbyes with love. Incidently, the study of birth order and personality is an interesting one and worth its own thread. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-an-accident/552316/50 "2010-09-02T04:02:54Z")
'47, '50, '51 and- me, 1960. Doc told my mom pregnancy wasn’t going to happen after their third because of scarring or something. I got this info out of her when I was thirty-four and she’d had some wine. I still contend I was a blessing, not an accident. I was definitely not as spoiled as any of the “only child” kids I knew. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-an-accident/552316/51 "2010-09-02T05:05:49Z")
Yup. My mother was ‘infertile’ and my Dad didn’t want any more kids. As far as I’m concerned, my daughter’s conception was an accident, but her birth was not. > [@hajario](#): > > Mom and Dad wanted kids someday so she went to the OB/GYN. He told her that she had a condition that would make it very difficult to conceive. Mom and Dad wanted to wait a couple of years but they didn’t want take any chances so Mom went off of birth control right away. She was pregnant six weeks later. > > Twelve years later, my parents are divorced. My dad is with the woman who is now my step-mom. One of her daughters is five weeks older than me. It turns out that way back when she had the same OB/GYN. She was told that she had the same condition at around the same time with the same results. [/QUOTE] You’re twelve years old? And your Dad was married to one woman, planning kids with her, and doing exactly the same with another woman - with the same OB/GYN? ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-an-accident/552316/52 "2010-09-02T12:01:00Z")
My brother and I were both planned. I took a little while to happen, but my brother was near-instant (well, except for the gestating bit, which took about 42 weeks). ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-an-accident/552316/53 "2010-09-02T12:47:47Z")
I was planned. My parents wanted at least a boy and a girl. They got two boys then me. All done! My husband was an IUD baby. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-an-accident/552316/54 "2010-09-02T13:04:11Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > Yup. My mother was ‘infertile’ and my Dad didn’t want any more kids. > > As far as I’m concerned, my daughter’s conception was an accident, but her birth was not. > > > [@hajario](#): > > > > Mom and Dad wanted kids someday so she went to the OB/GYN. He told her that she had a condition that would make it very difficult to conceive. Mom and Dad wanted to wait a couple of years but they didn’t want take any chances so Mom went off of birth control right away. She was pregnant six weeks later. > > > > Twelve years later, my parents are divorced. My dad is with the woman who is now my step-mom. One of her daughters is five weeks older than me. It turns out that way back when she had the same OB/GYN. She was told that she had the same condition at around the same time with the same results. You’re twelve years old? And your Dad was married to one woman, planning kids with her, and doing exactly the same with another woman - with the same OB/GYN? [/QUOTE] I read that as the stepmother had children from a previous relationship twelve years prior. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-an-accident/552316/55 "2010-09-02T13:27:59Z")
Of course I was. I have shared this story before, but why not. My father seduced my mother. He was married, and her teacher - it was high school. She was either just underage or just above the age of majority, I’ve never gotten a straight answer. I don’t know how soon she knew she was pregnant, but she was away at hostel (dormitory) and was able to hide it from her sister, my aunt, by saying the lady at the dorm cooked oil-laden food. When I was born, my dad disowned me. I don’t know the details, but I do know he wasn’t going to mess up his marriage for something so paltry as a girl child. Thankfully my mother’s elder sister ended up adopting me. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-an-accident/552316/56 "2010-09-02T13:38:49Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > > [@scifisam2009](#): > > > > You’re twelve years old? And your Dad was married to one woman, planning kids with her, and doing exactly the same with another woman - with the same OB/GYN? > > I read that as the stepmother had children from a previous relationship twelve years prior. That would make more sense, but the post definitely says ‘12 years later’ referring to after the conception. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-an-accident/552316/57 "2010-09-02T14:46:19Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Of course I was. > > I have shared this story before, but why not. My father seduced my mother. He was married, and her teacher - it was high school. She was either just underage or just above the age of majority, I’ve never gotten a straight answer. I don’t know how soon she knew she was pregnant, but she was away at hostel (dormitory) and was able to hide it from her sister, my aunt, by saying the lady at the dorm cooked oil-laden food. > > When I was born, my dad disowned me. I don’t know the details, but I do know he wasn’t going to mess up his marriage for something so paltry as a girl child. > > Thankfully my mother’s elder sister ended up adopting me. It’s a tough thing to deal with. My father, who I never met, officially deserted my mother and my siblings when I was two, but had been mostly absent long before that. He never looked back and never contacted any of his children, although my brother went to see him at some point as an adult. For the most part, it doesn’t matter to me other than wondering why someone would abandon his children. I know it hurt my sibs deeply. When my brother told me that he died, I just shrugged. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-an-accident/552316/58 "2010-09-02T18:27:08Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > I never asked my mother, but I’m pretty sure I was accidental, for the opposite reason of yours- my mom got pregnant with me 6 weeks after having my brother. He was breech and it was a horrible birth and they both almost died, so I don’t think she would have been trying again so soon. I’m stunned the opportunity even arose, in your mom’s case… my husband wouldn’t have been allowed in the same ZIP code if that had gone on!! I’d say I’m not so much an “accident”, as the normal course of events for a family where birth control wasn’t being used. We kids were spaced about 2 years apart, and I’m the youngest of 4 (3 older brothers). From what I understand, there was a miscarriage after me, and no more pregnancies that I know of. I don’t know if that was by design or not - Mom was only 30 when I was born so there was plenty of time for younger siblings to put in an appearance. ---
**Author:** ![SurrenderDorothy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/surrenderdorothy/32/1221_2.png) [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-an-accident/552316/59 "2010-09-02T19:12:30Z")
I’m pretty sure I was planned and certainly wanted. I love looking at photos of myself and my family when I was a baby. It’s clear how much I was loved. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-an-accident/552316/60 "2010-09-02T19:27:14Z")
Yep. I’m adopted. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-an-accident/552316.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-an-accident/552316.md?page=4)