No-Kids Zones and the Myth of "Parasitic Mothers"

A year ago, a friend of mine, a female radio producer in Seoul, confided that visiting someone who had just given birth horrified her. She talked about this young mother as being cooped up in the apartment all day while her husband worked, and feeling her intelligence diminishing to the level of her baby’s from lack of contact with other adults and the outside world. She was so starved for meaningful interaction that even the arrival of a deliveryman delighted her. The friend added, if this is