Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
To have or not have kids is one of the biggest decisions we make in our lives, and yet how many of us know that we even have a choice about how we define and create our families? Beyond Pronatalism host Nandita Bajaj interviews women and men from diverse backgrounds who are courageously and creatively navigating pronatalism - the powerful pressures to have children - whether from family, friends, or the culture at large. Through intimate conversations, they discuss how they are forging unconventional pathways to fulfillment, including redefining what family means to them - whether that means being childfree or childless, having biological children, adopting or fostering children or animals, or creating close-knit communities of friends and loved ones.
Episodes
Paddy’s emotionally-detached boarding school upbringing left him distrustful of authority, including the unspoken expectation to have children. A growing awareness of ecological and social crises and the desire to break a cycle of generational family trauma led him to choose a vasectomy. Today, he and his wife enjoy a joyful life while standing up to oppressive systems.
Elizabet, the daughter of Bulgarian immigrants in the Czech Republic, shares her experience of coming out as gay in her teens and subsequently raising a child alone. She now speaks openly about her parental regret, rooted in her worry for both her child's future and her deep love for the natural world and concern for its destruction.
See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript:
A childhood illness leaves Chetana unable to give birth. After enduring the pronatalist shame of biological childlessness for many years from both her Indian immigrant family and the broader Midwestern US culture, she reflects on the possibilities this opened up for her, and how many women are denied those possibilities by pronatalism.
See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript:
Born to a barmaid and adopted into a Southern Baptist home at the age of 6, Bob struggled with forming attachments. At 74, Bob reflects on the unconventional pathway his life took and what it took to find himself.
See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript:
https://www.populationbalance.org/beyond-pronatalism-podcast/bob
Interested in being on the show? Submit your story here: https://www.populationbalance.org/beyo...
Jane went into obstetrics and gynecology after her own terrifying pregnancy experience. Now a fulfilled single mother of two, she shares her observations on the pressures women experience to have children, on the ethics of having children amid the global ecological crisis, and on her own fight against the pronatalism of her profession.
See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript:
Raised by a Japanese father and a German mother in two contrasting cultural settings, Mariko always had the alienating sense of not quite fitting in. To spare their children the same unease, and to follow their personal life passions, she and her partner choose the childfree path.
See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript:
Olivia and her husband are both fairly certain they don’t want biological children, but they deeply value family and are afraid they’ll miss out. The challenges of the adoption process have thrown them into a state of uncertainty about how to have the family they crave, while staying true to their convictions.
See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript:
https://www.populationbalance.org/beyond-pronatalism-podcast/ol...
Nicole grew up in a traditional household in Brazil, but knew from an early age that motherhood was not for her. When she found herself with a partner who decided he did want kids, she embarked on a journey of discovery about the many pathways life could take outside of our reproductive capacity. This journey included not only deep self-reflection, but interviewing 14 incredible women and publishing a book that tells their stories....
Following in the footsteps of her grandparents, Melissa gave birth to four kids in rapid succession. She found raising children - who include Population Balance Board Chair Lukas Eddy - to be incredibly rewarding, yet wishes she had first taken the time to discover herself. As an empty nester, she is finally finding that time.
See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript:
Juan Camilo made a decision when he was just a teenager: that he would not bring children into a world where they would suffer. Despite the pressures of living in conservative Colombia, he has managed to stick to his convictions and now teaches graduate students about how they can reduce their environmental impact by having fewer kids.
See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript:
Raised in disparate cultures across the world, Milly and Mik had different ideas about what kind of family they wanted. But there was one thing they agreed on: adoption (of three dogs and a child!) was the way to go.
See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript:
https://www.populationbalance.org/beyond-pronatalism-podcast/milly-mik
About Beyond Pronatalism
To have or not have kids is one of the biggest decisions we...
Raised in the conservative Deep South of the United States, Laura always believed having kids was a requirement. When she found out it was optional, suddenly everything changed.
See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript:
https://www.populationbalance.org/beyond-pronatalism-podcast/laura
About Beyond Pronatalism
To have or not have kids is one of the biggest decisions...
A Mormon upbringing, an accidental pregnancy, and lack of access to abortion services drove Ash to bear a child against her wishes. Committed to taking back her stolen autonomy, Ash chooses a surprising path.
See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript:
https://www.populationbalance.org/beyond-pronatalism-podcast/ash
About Beyond Pronatalism
To have or not have kids is...
Raised in a small Catholic village in Germany, curious 13yo Hans-Peter used his first paycheck to buy a Bible. A deep dive into Chritianity drove him to stand up for reproductive rights and ecological sustainability, and on his 25th birthday, he gifted himself a vasectomy.
See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript:
https://www.populationbalance.org/beyond-pronatalism-podcast/hans-peter
About Beyond Pronatalism
T...
Unable to have children naturally, and driven by her fear of regretting childlessness, Sara sought IVF in her late 30s - a journey that was physically, emotionally, and financially harrowing - only to realize that she had just dodged a pronatalist bullet.
See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript:
https://www.populationbalance.org/beyond-pronatalism-podcast/sara
About Beyond Pronatalism
To have or not have kids i...
Deeply in love with each other and their 38 animals, Tania (a Ukrainian asylee) and Brian (a Latino/Native American) share their vastly different upbringing that set them on their childfree paths.
See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript:
https://www.populationbalance.org/beyond-pronatalism-podcast/tania-brian
About Beyond Pronatalism
To have or not have kids is o...
Born and raised in densely-populated Hong Kong, Vincie shares her journey of wrestling with traditional Asian family norms and creating her own chosen family.
See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript:
https://www.populationbalance.org/beyond-pronatalism-podcast/vincie
About Beyond Pronatalism
To have or not have kids is one of the biggest decisions we make in our li...
Born and raised in Haiti, and now living in the US, Lili talks about how she found peace after many years of dreading motherhood within a pronatalist culture that values large families.
See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript:
https://www.populationbalance.org/beyond-pronatalism-podcast/lili
About Beyond Pronatalism
To have or not have kids is one of the biggest decisions we make in our lives, and yet how many ...
Raised within the religiously-conservative Colombian culture with a lonely and isolated childhood, Juliana describes her journey of finding liberation by rejecting harmful societal norms and choosing a radical pathway of becoming a childfree environmentalist and animal rights activist.
See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript:
https://www.populationbalance.org/beyond-pronatalism-podcast/juliana
About Beyond Pron...
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