Is there something in the water? Or is it the Holy Spirit?

Hollywood has just unleashed a spate of movies about unintended and unexpected pregnancies — and in every case, the mother chooses life.

USA TODAY picks up on the trend and talks to some directors and critics about this mini-phenom:

Today, the impending, though unplanned, birth of a baby is fodder for comedy, romance and unexpected happiness.

“This is a sea change,” says Leonard Maltin, film historian for Entertainment Tonight. “It reflects what’s going on in the world, which is that women no longer need to feel like victims, even if something as dramatic as this has happened. For decades the very phrase ‘unwanted pregnancy’ was a synonym for soap opera. There was no question what kind of film you were going to see: It was going to be weepy. That has changed enormously. We’re now open enough in our willingness to deal with it and show that we can even laugh at it. These attitudes are in the zeitgeist, and the smarter, hipper movies tap into that.”

What has changed over the years to make inadvertently expectant mothers the source of such optimistic expectations?

“It reflects a shift in morality and acceptance of young women who are not married having sex lives,” says Jeanine Basinger, chair of film studies at Wesleyan University and author of “The Star Machine.” “There is a difference in the cultural climate. The acceptance of keeping and raising a child if you’re unmarried, or meeting and choosing the adoptive parents and discussing it openly, is a modern phenomenon.”

Adds Maltin: “The reason these films resonate with audiences is that we can all relate to them.”

Audiences particularly related to “Knocked Up,” a summer blockbuster that grossed a hefty $148.8 million. Since opening last month, “Juno” is drawing large audiences and has taken in $85.4 million, which qualifies it as a bona fide art-house hit. And it’s on the short list for Oscar nominations, to be announced Tuesday. “Waitress,” which opened in May and was made on a shoestring, earned a modest $19.1 million but was a big film festival favorite.

The stories each have an uplifting quality. In “Waitress,” Russell’s character and her young daughter go off hand in hand in a sweetly lilting ending, after what began as a rather grim tale. In Knocked Up, audiences walk out having a sense that the baby will be loved and well taken care of. In Juno, the baby is eagerly adopted by a warm-hearted woman (Jennifer Garner) who has been yearning to be a mother.

The protagonists in each of the films are endearing and smart. Rather than being portrayed as victims, they are all take-charge heroines with heart.

“What’s interesting is the sweetness that they’re bringing to these stories,” Basinger says. “It’s still the same old motherhood story. Once you remove the social stigma of the unwed mother, things change.”

In movies of past decades, things were not so full of sweetness and light. The tabloid-style titles —Girl in Trouble (1963), The Shame of Patty Smith (1962), Damaged Goods (1961) and You’ve Ruined Me, Eddie (1959) — focus on tragedy and disgrace.

Even more recent films, such as 1996’s “Citizen Ruth” and 1982’s “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” positioned unplanned pregnancies in a grim light.

“Generally speaking, in the old movies, if they were going to tell the story, it was darker and couched in sympathetic terms toward the pregnant woman,” Basinger says. “But these days, the audience doesn’t come in and have to be talked out of being judgmental. The audience is living with these issues. And with all the violent films out, people are finding some relief in these more human stories.”

Judd Apatow, writer/director of “Knocked Up” (and The 40-Year-Old Virgin), agrees.

“The reason why people like these movies, and a common thread between them, is that people are happy to get a break and see stories which treasure the idea of children,” Apatow says. “Especially because there are a lot of things happening in the world today that are very dark and that don’t value human life. Children give you hope.

“In ‘Waitress,’ when she walks away at the end with her child, I bawl. It’s powerful and hopeful. ”

The USA TODAY article has much more on the subject. Take a look. It’s an interesting snapshot of our culture at this particular moment.

Especially, the day before the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.