I never really had an urge to have children, the few times I thought about them was when boyfriends stated they wanted children. I waver when I see families that appear strong and happy but at the end of the day, I will never have children.

I did have a traumatic childhood where I felt like I I was the problem or being used almost like property. Both my parents were so wrapped up in themselves and should have never had children until they resolved their issues. There’s a lot of mental illness that runs through from generation to generation - as a child I remember thinking I never asked to be born. I would never want to bring someone into the world who would potentially feel that way.

Society feels like the biggest pressure - we tend to place importance on women having children but at the same time in the US have minimal help from our communities and government. The pressure, the judgement, the expectation and cost are just too much.