A childhood belief about getting pregnant

When I was eight years old, I was under the impression that women became pregnant in much the same way as they caught a cold, by falling victim to an errant germ. I got that impression from a REDBOOK article in which one woman's difficulties in conceiving were detailed. I used to read everything in the world when I was a six-year-old kid - REDBOOK, ESQUIRE, THE COMPLETE EDGAR ALLEN POE, everything.

After that, I overheard my parents discussing, in hushed terms, a local unmarried woman who had become pregnant. Thinking it odd that they would consider this woman different from other prospective mothers, I said "Why does a woman need to be married to have a baby? I read an article about an unmarried woman having a baby".

My mom said, "That was a very bad woman". Both mom and dad refused to explain further.