SATURATION POINT: FERTILITY

Details editor — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 11:13:38 -0400

Bountiful wombs have fascinated humans since the dawn of time, but the current fixation on popping out babies—lots of 'em, by mothers of all ages—leaves us wondering: Why do we celebrate this birth daze?

4 B.C.: The Virgin Mary delivers.

1934: The Dionne quintuplets are born. They go on to appear together in Quaker Oats ads and several movies.

1939: The youngest of the Von Trapp Family Singers is born.

1948: Cheaper by the Dozen

1970: The Partridge Family

1977: Eight Is Enough

1978: Louise Brown, the first in vitro fertilization baby, is born.

1987: Raising Arizona

1989: The band the Breeders forms. Singer Kim Deal later recruits her twin, Kelley.

1999: Apu and his wife have octuplets on The Simpsons.

2003: The Triplets of Belleville

2004: Quintuplets

2007: Jon & Kate Plus 8

2007: Knocked Up

2007: Juno

2008: Rebecca Romijn, Angelina Jolie, and Jennifer Lopez all give birth to twins.

March 2008: Reluctant-to-breed giant pandas begin mating at the National Zoo.

April 2008: Baby Mama

June 2008: Dubious reports circulate that a group of 17 knocked-up students in one Gloucester, Massachusetts, high school had a "pregnancy pact."

July 2008:Family Foreman

December 2008: A 70-year-old Indian woman gives birth to her first child.

December 2008: Bristol Palin's baby is born.

January 2009: Rumors fly about 45-year-old Michelle Obama's supposed "baby bump."

January 2009: Nadya Suleman's octuplets meet their six siblings.

Details: The Provocateur

SATURATION POINT: FERTILITY