Childless Women

Childfree Women: Tell Us What You Love Most About Not Having Kids

Emma Gray | Posted 05.23.2012

Emma Gray

I personally would like to have children at some point down the line (at least I'm pretty sure) but right now I'm content to live a life that just wouldn't be able to exist if I was financially and emotionally responsible for another human being.

Childfree: Daily Mail Blames Career Women For 'Enforced' Male Childlessness

Emma Gray | Posted 05.11.2012

Emma Gray

The idea that men might feel less empowered than women to discuss their desire to be parents deserves our attention. However, the Daily Mail piece frames the issue in a completely unproductive way -- blaming "career women" for "denying" their partners children.

When You're Not a Mother on Mother's Day

Melanie Notkin | Posted 05.09.2012

Melanie Notkin

Babies are born from the womb. Maternity is born from the soul. There are many ways to mother.

How Does Being Childless Feel When You Age?

Ann Brenoff | Posted 04.30.2012

Ann Brenoff

The thing about childlessness-by-choice is that it's a decision you make when you're young, without really knowing how deep of an impact it will have on your 60s or 70s. By then, it's too late.

Infertility: 16 Things You Should Never Say To A Woman Who Is Childless But Not By Choice

Tracey Cleantis | Posted 04.25.2012

Tracey Cleantis

A primer on things best not to say to women who have been pumped full of mind-altering hormones and endured an alphabet soup of invasive procedures (ART, IVFs, ICSI's, IUI's), miscarriages and/or had failed adoptions.

A Woman Without Children 'Has Nothing'?

Nicole Ciomek | Posted 04.23.2012

Nicole Ciomek

My life is FULL of amazing stuff. It sometimes overwhelms me. Yet there is still this attitude in our culture that if you are not a mother, you have nothing.

'Childless'... Deficit or Description?

Marcy Cole, Ph.D. | Posted 04.20.2012

Marcy Cole, Ph.D.

At this time, I do not have a child, therefore I AM childless. That may change someday, but for now, there is greater peace in accepting it as it is.

What Not to Say to Single Women Who Long to Be Moms

Melanie Notkin | Posted 04.24.2012

Melanie Notkin

We all know that going through infertility treatments can be incredibly challenging for couples. But single women who yearn to be mothers go through their own heartache.

The 2nd Worst Question To Ask A Single Woman

Melanie Notkin | Posted 04.18.2012

Melanie Notkin

When a woman is over age 30, single and childless, people want to know why. Just about everyone is just dying to know: What is she waiting for?

My Secret Grief

Melanie Notkin | Posted 03.13.2012

Melanie Notkin

The grief hit me in my mid-thirties without warning. By all appearances, my life was fantastic, but there were nights when I would cry for hours. I was in mourning, but I didn't know it.

Are Single Women Singled Out At Work?

Melanie Notkin | Posted 01.16.2012

Melanie Notkin

How could a company supporting women's health founded by and for women not support a breast cancer survivor? Why is motherhood the only acceptable reason to leave the office before 6 p.m.?

The Invisible Infertility

Melanie Notkin | Posted 10.16.2011

Melanie Notkin

For women like me, we not only grieve the loss of motherhood, but we also grieve the loss of the dream, the dream of finding love and marriage resulting in that beautiful baby carriage.

I Haven't Said No To Babies -- I Just Haven't Said Yes Yet

Tamsen Fadal | Posted 10.02.2011

Tamsen Fadal

Here's the truth. I don't know if I am going to have kids. What's more, I don't know when I am going to know.

Is "Career Woman" the New "Spinster?"

Melanie Notkin | Posted 09.26.2011

Melanie Notkin

"I know a lot of women like you," said my date, admitting he was trying to figure out why a 'great girl' like me was still single.

The Truth About Childless Women

Melanie Notkin | Posted 09.10.2011

Melanie Notkin

I'm 42 and still single and I have come to acknowledge the truth: it's very possible I won't have children of my own.

It's Time to Stop Calling Career Women Without Children "Delayers"

Melanie Notkin | Posted 08.13.2011

Melanie Notkin

The federal government's blame-name-calling needs to stop. We're not spinsters. We're not career women. And we're not delayers.

Time To Mother Ourselves In Midlife

Donna Henes | Posted 11.17.2011

Donna Henes

If, as it has been said, "some people give birth to children and some give birth to culture," then for the 20 percent of us who are not biological mothers, it is important to acknowledge that we have, in fact, been culture mothers, the mothers of necessity, the mothers of invention.

In Defense Of The Choice To Remain Child-Free

Stefanie Iris Weiss | Posted 11.17.2011

Stefanie Iris Weiss

People react to the idea of women not having children with total incredulity, shock, and worst of all, pity. They assume it's a case of infertility in disguise, a lack of a relationship, or that women without kids "hate children."

Childlessness and Late Fertility: Parsing the New Pew Report

Elizabeth Gregory | Posted 11.17.2011

Elizabeth Gregory

Here's another later-fertility story from Pew Research Center. This month they report that fewer women are having kids.

Pushing Babies: The Assault on Childless Women

Elizabeth Gregory | Posted 05.25.2011

Elizabeth Gregory

Because fertility is experienced as a very personal issue, it ends up getting very little critical discussion. Time for an honest exploration of the dynamics of birth timing and women's work, especially in our recession.

Shriver Report: Get Married, Have Kids, Then We'll Speak to Your Issues

Bella DePaulo | Posted 11.17.2011

Bella DePaulo

I'll highlight some remarkable and conventional-wisdom-defying findings from the report that were published but never headlined.