Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Welcome to Otherhood

In this episode we discuss the question, why is it so hard to talk about not wanting children? We ask our Instagram followers, chat about some of the wider systems at play and suggest some things that make it easier to talk about this subject.

References

Hagen, S. (2019) Happy Fat: Taking Up Space in a World That Wants to Shrink You. Harper Collins.

Gallagher, J. (2020) Fertility rate: ‘jaw-dropping’ global crash in children being born, BBC News. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53409521 (Accessed: 20 October 2025).

Gallagher, J. (2020) Fertility rate: ‘jaw-dropping’ global crash in children being born, BBC News. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53409521 (Accessed: 20 October 2025).

Group, P.H.M. (2025) Births in England and Wales: 2024 (refreshed populations), Births in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/livebirths/bulletins/birthsummarytablesenglandandwales/2024refreshedpopulations (Accessed: 20 October 2025).

Ruby Warrington podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2w1mIHg2J1Zpd4qwCwItPx?si=u8JGm0GsQQOF3hFLQSBzmg

This is our pilot episode :-)

We talk about the creation of our podcast, our inspiration, waffle on about some other stuff, and talk about what we hope to achieve with ‘Welcome to Otherhood’.

And just to reassure you - we have bought decent equipment by Episode 2!

References

Donath, O. (2017) Regretting Motherhood: A Study. North Atlantic Books.

Heti, S. (2018) Motherhood. Penguin Random House.

Warrington, R. (2023) Women without Kids. Orion Spring.

The colonisation of imagination (Referenced in Orna Donath’s work) - Diana Tietjens Meyers, “The Rush to Motherhood: Pronatalist Discourse and Women’s Autonomy,” signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 26, no. 3 (2001): 735-773.

Hello!

Welcome to Otherhood - a podcast exploring how for some women motherhood is not necessary. Enjoy!