Mary Bratz

Childlessness is on the riseamong Americans, some by choice, some not. “Childfree” is the term used for those who never wanted children and “childless not by choice” means the person wanted children, but never had children either because of infertility or circumstances. The child free movement is a discussion for another time and place. What I want to discuss are those whose hearts quietly ache every day and for some, every minute of the day for children, but never or rarely say anything about this taboo subject.

While studies have been done that say 15% of Americans are childless and10% experience infertility at some point in their lives, there are no statistics to determine just how many are childfree and how many are childless.The childfree movement has gotten some attention on social media in recent years, but when it comes to cnbc…crickets.

Why? Because few people even know that cnbc exists, even in the mental health field. There are only a handful of therapists in America who specialize in this population and there are few, if any, training seminars on this topic. So, allow us to introduce ourselves!

We are:                                                                                                                                       

• The childless due to infertility or inability to carry a baby to term.

• The childless due to multiple failed IVF treatments.

• The childless due to early menopause.

• The childless who could not afford to adopt or a baby was not available to adopt.            

• The childless who chose not to pass on a hideous hereditary disease to their children.

• The childless due to chronic medical conditions, whether physical or mental, that would have made it very difficult or impossible to care for a child properly.

• The childless who never found a suitable partner/wanting a family, rather than being a single parent.

• The childless who wanted children, but their spouse chose not to.

• The childless due to lack of finances, medical insurance or family support.

• The childless due to sexual dysfunction, including genital mutilation.

• The childless due to age.

• The childless due to being a caregiver to elderly parents or someone with special needs.

We are childless not by choice. We exist!