Why Did Several Women Choose to be Child-Free?

Dr. Zoe Krupka, psychotherapist, some women chose not to have due to personal reasons and such reasons are valid. Some people would treat women who don't want to have kids as selfish as they do not want kids but according to Dr. Krupka, what's more, selfish is having kids so they can look after you when you get older.

According to Dr. Krupka, being child-free is sometimes labeled as shallow and immature.

Caroline Epskamp, 48 years old, has a husband of 22 years, says that she and her husband have a firm decision on not having kids as she also never felt maternal. She prioritizes her independence which kids would have hindered if she have one. Epskamp says life will definitely change and she chose her life not to be changed. She said she's happy with her marriage without a child and it's something that she and her husband want.

According to Gemma Nisbet, a Melbourne writer, 40 years old, her preference not to have a child makes her mental health stable. The reason behind her choice is her fear that her post-natal depression will stop her from spending time with her child.

The number of babies born in the United States fell to the lowest level within 32 years in 2018 and the rate has been sloping down steadily ever since, per TODAY.

The choice of having no children is valid

A Study entitled Regret and Psychological Well-Being Among Voluntarily and Involuntarily Childless Women and Mothers shows that many women who chose to be child-free are confident and firm in their decision.

Dr. Krupka says that if women chose not to have children, others would treat them as the not real women they were supposed to want to nurture and care for. Women, on the other hand, are not only expected to be mothers in the future but also grandmothers. The psychotherapists say that when women get older, they are expected to be grandparents already and the first question others would ask them is to tell them about their grandchildren.

Dr. Shannon Curry, a clinical psychologist, and director of the Curry Psychology Group in Orange County, California, says that the social pressure put on women to get married and have children is enormous. The universal narrative would be, that if a woman doesn't have a child, they will not enjoy the rest of their life and they will surely miss out on her life experience.

Dr. Curry states that the usual myths about women being child-free involve the concept of regret as they don't have children, women who chose not to have one will never be happy or will never be fulfilled in their life, and being child-free will lead to more hardship considering that when people get old, they cannot give stable care anymore.

Jordan Levey, 35 years old, a law student, says that without a child, she can give all her attention to her husband and career, and not having kids allow her to pursue all of her hobbies, per CNN.

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Having enough time with oneself without a child

Despite the fact that others treat having a child as an important milestone in an adult's life, some women still chose to be child-free.

Jennifer Watling Neal, Ph.D., says that people need to understand that a choice of being child-free is valid and it's what some women want. People in the United States are now becoming more and more open about the choice of women not to have kids.

Sheenie Ambardar M.D. told Very Well Mind that several women who chose not to have kids are able to process their thoughts and emotions.

Related Article: New Parenting Survey Reveals More Americans Do Not Want to Have Children