I think it's just the natural progression of things. Marriage is becoming less and less of an issue for people. Sometimes marriage just is not mutually beneficial, and therefore you have people who are together for decades upon decades -- but haven't made their love a legal issue. It's not "cool" and on the flip side, it's not "wrong". It's normal for the way life is now.

Right, the new "in" thing. Having children isn't a trend, it's a choice. If she chose to do something stupid that led to her pregnancy, or chose to become pregnant with or without a husband, that is her business. It's also the business of every individual woman, and every individual woman alone. Don't be so condescending, babysugar. Just because you got your relationship validated by a piece of paper and a clergyman doesn't mean we all need to to feel that we have "permission" to have children.

I wonder what the baby's first word will be since the Kardashian sisters seem to favor those with four letters.

First, I'd like to say congrats to Kourtney. She is gorgeous and I'm sure the baby will be darling. And second, I have no problem with women having babies however they choose. Babies are gifts. I do think, like Chrstne said, it is just a way of life now and I'm curious to see what other opinions are.

the whole thing is kind of off. why is someone other than the mom announcing the pregnancy? and the name of her show "Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami" doesn't really seem like one that would include mommy and me classes. just seems off.

Poor kid !!!!!
I would hate for her to be my MOM

Ya Poor kid

Given the high divorce rate these days, does it really make a difference if you're married when you concieve/deliver?

This probably used to happen almost as often, but celebs either had more abortions or somehow hid the pregnancy. Now it's obvious that just because you have a baby out of wedlock doesn't mean your career is over. Like babysugar pointed out, it has definitely boosted the careers of some of these women, so as more celebs get pregnant without getting married, they aren't afraid to hide it.

Congrats Kourtney. Oh yeah there's nothing wrong with having a child even if you aren't married. Marriage is just not for everyone and ther's nothing wrong with that. And another thing Halle Berry,Angelina Jolie, and Nicole are all great mothers.

I love how everyone thinks this happened bc she wanted it too. Its obvious she got knocked up by one of her many one night stands. This is so gross she needs to give this child to someone who actually wants it.

We have no idea who the father is
or the nature of their relationship...
THIS IS REALLY NOBODIES BUSINESS!
This is a private affair.
Kourtney is a 30yr old adult woman,
who is more than able to provide for the child ..
so i dont see what the issue is..
The question "Is this the new cool thing?"
is sort of ridiculous...
I dont think she/anyone is advocating
ditching marriage or raising children alone...
There are consequences/ risks to having sex outside of a loving relationship..
So if sexually active adult woman finds herself in this situation she has 3 options..
Have an abortion, put the child up for adoption or raise the child on her own, with all the love, support and resources that she has at her disposal..
#11.."How the hell, would you know anything about her many 1 night stands??" If she did not want the child she would simply have an abortion..You sound like a 12 yr old.
Grow up!

she lives her life on reality shows, that makes her private life everyones business.

Exactly. If she wanted this kept private she wouldn't go on E news and announce it. These people will do anything for publicity. I'm sure she will get her own reality show.."I got knocked up for publicity..now look at me screw up a kid" And umm they were showing in previews for her new show that she had one night stands..so yes it is true. You are a moron..

I don't think everybody who publicly announces important events in their private life (marriage, death, or the birth of a child) is inviting the entire world to speculate about whether their choices are acceptable or even what the circumstances are surrounding the event.

Agree with Michelann above. Friends of mine who have been together for 7 years now and are not married have just had a baby. I'm not judging them for not being married and having a "child out of wedlock" (hate that phrase btw, it's so antiquated - don't care if it's an accurante description, etc. etc.). I also don't think this is a "trend" it's called someone's PERSONAL DECISION.

I know how feable human relationships are, and to be honest, just because you have a piece of paper it doesnt mean your relationship will last. If a woman wants to have a child by themselves it could be tricky, children need a father figure in their lives that role is very important, its doesnt mean single women cant be good parents but its preferable if the child has a male in their lives. good luck to her.

People are just realizing that a piece of paper is not what holds people together. Commitment is something you both have to want, making it "legal" will not make the commitment better.

Having a child together is the biggest commitment you can make. I think it should be a well thought decision, I am not worried about the "out of wedlock" part just about the people sleeping around without protection!

um, I'm old school...while I know "oopsies" happen, I'd have more respect for people not glamorizing bastard kids...harsh, I know but that's the technical term and I'm sick of seeing all these unwed parents...it makes it soo easy to abandon the "relationship" when things get sour..it's a cop out for wimps

I find the title of this article a little bit demeaning. While I think marriage is important, I do not think people need to be married in order to raise a happy, healthy child. My boyfriend and I unexpectedly got pregnant with our daughter. We had a strong relationship beforehand, and our daughter means everything to us. If the child is well taken care of and loved, what is the difference between wed and unwed? It doesn't make any sense. So many people get married because they are expecting or have just had a child, and I don't think that's the right reason. Marriages are more likely to fall apart if that's the only reason you are going to get married. I could not disagree with you more, jaan_black. Unwed parents are not "wimps." Many people go through a divorce when their relationship (I'm not sure why you put relationship in quotations) goes sour, and that can be a bigger mess to deal with than breaking up. If the relationship is strong, married or not, it will thrive. If the relationship is weak, and the those involved aren't putting in effort to salvage it, it will dissolve, married or not. I found your comment to be offensive.

But...on a side note....Kourtney Kardashian seems like she is going to try and "pimp" her child out a la Jon & Kate Plus 8, which I think is awful.

Please don't ever say "out of wedlock" again. Good god - I haven't heard that phrase since "Catholic School".
Woman have children if they choose. All the rest is ever-changing social mores.

"wedlock" seriously? Did we travel back to the 1800's???

What a sad situation for that unborn child to be placed in. She probably doesn't even know who the father is, and that would not be surprising to me being how much all of them talk, look, and act like wh*res. Why congratulate someone like her.

Wow, Jaan. I'm not religious and have a non-traditional view of mariage so I respect your opinion, but having a child without being married isn't necessarily an accident. Couples split up whether they are married or not, or can get married for the wrong reasons. I know people who got married because of an unplanned pregnancy, and they divorced a year later because they were both miserable; one of my best friends' parents still aren't married, and they're a very happy couple.
You can decide not to get married to your boyfriend for various reasons and still raise your child as part of a loving and committed relationship, and single mothers can make the choice of having a child without getting married. None of them deserve to have their child called a "bastard" by some people who decided to make different choices for personal reasons.

Also, my sister was born "out of wedlock" 35 years ago - you can say my parents were already cool at the time.

How is being an unwed mother a moral trend? This is so wrong on many levels. So who cares if the old words "wedlock and bastard children" are used. It's all the same.

She's an unwed wh*re who probably couldn't tell you who the father is. But she could tell you to watch her new reality show so she could get good ratings and get paid.

America just keeps going down hill. They have no right to talk about morals in other countries, being that there isn't much left in the United States.

Sadly I think some young celebrities are getting pregnant to boost their careers. Similar to them setting up "dates" with other stars to drum up publicity, or how the current prostitots like Hugens and Cyrus, are having sexy/nude photos "leaked".

"Wedlock" (cringe). For a blog that's supposed to be hip and modern, that word just set you back a few decades. That's almost as bad as saying "illegitimate child." Come on, Lil Sugar. A "trend?" Like skinny jeans? Women have OPTIONS these days, thank goodness, that's why some are choosing to have children without having to necessarily be married to their child's father. Forty years ago, women didn't have as many options. You got married because you needed a man to support you financially. That's not the case today. Many women are better off economically than men, and even more are more educated than men these days. Not wanting to marry should not preclude a woman from her natural-born right of bearing a child. Decades ago, women stayed married because they had to. Because if they got divorced, they'd be relegated to poverty. Luckily, that's increasingly not the case for this generation of women. Let's finally lift this taboo.

It is a trend and disturbing. Babies shouldn't be born out of wedlock-how hard is it to wait until marriage?

I think that there's just a baby boom right now in general, and that's probably a big contributing factor.

And why are people complaining about the term "wedlock", what else would you call it?

If you do get pregnant and the boyfriend doesnt want to get married what do you propose? Hold a gun to his head so that you dont have a child out of "wedlock"...
Or an abortion?
Life doesnt always adhere to a formula..

Good luck to her and her upcoming family.

I'd not assume that she doesn't know who the daddy is, etc LOL, that sounds like a Maury show. I don't know much about this celeb although I've seen her on Chelsea Handler's show a couple of times and she sure looked pregnant the last time I watched her on there.

I will say that it's a personal decision (not a trend) to get pregnant before marriage, or sometimes it can also be a 'forced' decision (like ljawgirl, if the bf/gf doesn't want to get married, you can't make either one get married just because they're having a child together).

Why does it matter if the person's married or not when they have a kid? I mean, sure. Some religions require it... if you're devout. But, in my opinion, if you're able to take care of children and have the funds to support the kid(s!), then it's cool. Unless it's rape... because rape IS NOT COOL.

Technically I'm having kids out of wedlock. Ha. Sam and I have it in aaaaaall the wrong order.

Wow. This website has reached the height of flakiness. You're talking about a child's life, not buying a handbag.