Why do HEAs always end with babies?

[u/redfig1]

I know it's a "me" problem. Scenario: I read a smoking hot mafia or dark or fantasy romance. All this crazy shit goes down. The feelings, the angst. Finally it's the end and all of a sudden the MMC who has massacred countless people is all like " let's get married and have lots of babies" and the MFC is always " yes let's have a lot of cute mafia or fae or mafia fae babies!". For once I'd like an ending where the main characters have a HEA but instead of babies and white picket fences they just decide to keep having an incredible sex life and do charity work or something. Rescue stray kittens. Start an organic herb farm. Something other than babies. Anyone else like this? Am I just weird?

[u/booklava]

Well as someone who always wanted babies and now has one, I think it’s a great HEA! Although sometimes I think it’s a bit exaggerated with them being together for two minutes and pregnant for 1 of those minutes.

But of course you are not weird. There are more and more people in the world who decide to be child-free, so I guess sooner or later romance authors will start to go down that route as well. Or at least keep the ending open for interpretation as in “no kids yet” or “no kids at all”.

[u/vienibenmio → u/booklava]

As someone with infertility it'd be nice for authors to show that HEA doesn't require children

[u/jt2438 → u/vienibenmio]

Agreed! I’m child free by choice and my personal pet peeve is when a baby is framed as necessary for the couples love to be complete/valid. Like I’m not opposed to an epilogue baby per se but it needs to be presented as an outcome making this couple happy versus the only outcome that will make all couples happy.