Ground Melon Pig may regularly report on cultural issues for a Beijing-based paper, but none of her many elegantly penned stories have attracted as much attention as the monologue to her unborn baby posted on her blog.

After breaking up with her boyfriend six months ago, the 27-year-old reporter, who is two months pregnant, launched the blog titled "Words to My Piggy," addressed to her unborn child, on Sina.com, the country's most popular website.

She never expected her blog, dealing with the sensitive issue of single motherhood and accompanied by real life photos, would become as popular as it has to date netizens have left her more than 600,000 messages.

Many netizens warn her that by having the baby, Ground Melon Pig could be making a big mistake that will hurt both her and the child's future.

"Your baby's life will be incomplete without a father and you will face great pressure from a society not ready to tolerate unmarried mothers," commented a netizen surnamed "Water."

But the mother-to-be is determined.

She writes that she didn't make the decision impulsively, but "out of love for this little life and the natural instinct of being a mother."

Describing herself as an optimistic person, and making fun of her awkward posture during pregnancy, the out-going mother-to-be says she will treat her baby as a friend, telling it about its father when it is still young.

She hasn't yet written about her child's father, or revealed why they broke up.

What she worries about most is how to tell her elderly, old-fashioned parents about her pregnancy.

Amid the many warnings she has received over being a single mother, Ground Melon Pig has also found support and understanding from other single mothers who share her feelings, and praise her for her courage.

"Love yourself and love your 'piggy,' that's enough. It's your own business you're not hurting anyone," says a netizen surnamed "Caoming."

"As long as you are financially secure, being a single mother is nothing special. Society is becoming more tolerant," said another called "Blue rain" on the "Single Mother Forum."

Like the netizens, experts' opinions about Ground Melon Pig's choice vary.

According to Yue Cheng, a lawyer with the Beijing-based Yuecheng Law Firm, the Population and Family Planning Law stipulates that children of unmarried women have the same rights as married couples' offspring, but many current regulations don't encourage single mothers' to have children.

"In some places, single mothers need to pay extra to have illegimate child, and there are many difficulties in obtaining a legitimate identity for such a child," said Yue in an online interview with Sina.com.

Yue said he couldn't support Ground Melon Pig's choice, saying that it would be bad for the child's growth and social morality.

However, according to Xia Xueluan, a professor in sociology with Peking University, people should respect unmarried women's right to have babies.

"But women should be more rational in choosing single motherhood as a lifestyle. Some single mothers give up their obligations to foster and discipline their children because of the economic and social burden," said Xia.

According to Miao Ye, a researcher on single-parent families, some western countries are more tolerant about single mothers, even granting them preferential social welfare.

(China Daily October 17, 2006)