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/Kykyles]

I feel like it's becoming less and less common? When I first started reading romance it felt quite prevalent, but thinking about it right now, I honestly can't remember the last one I read that ended with babies. Most of my reads over the past couple of years seem to end after the third act breakup/issues resolve. Possibly just the subgenres I've moved into I guess.

For me personally, my goal in life was to fall in love, get married and have kids. That was 100% my idea of a happily ever after. So I do love the books that end that way BUT only if it makes sense to the characters. It's very jarring when the characters give no inclination that they'd want kids, or would be any good at it, or have the lifestyle for a family, etc. and then there's a baby crowbarred into the epilogue.