27th August 2014 | by MFC Team
“No Mos” – A new name for a new generation of childless women
The number of childless women has doubled in the last 30 years. According to the United States census reports, close to 50% of women who are of childbearing age are childless, up from 35% in the mid-70s. In Canada and the United States, one in five women will end her childbearing years without having a child. Figures are similar in the UK and Australia, reflecting a world-wide trend.
A recent CBC podcast with Brent Bambury focused on this growing group of women who are entering their mid-40s having not had children – dubbed “No Mos” or “Not Moms.” Many of these women didn’t “choose” childlessness, but are childless due to the circumstances of their lives, such as having not found a suitable partner with whom to have children, or unexpectedly remaining single into their mid to late 40s. Long pitied by others for their child“less”ness, these women are speaking out. They are determined to challenge the current social beliefs that motherhood equals womanhood, and are spreading the word about what it’s like to be “locked out of the Mommy Clubhouse.”
Bambury speaks to three women who are active and vocal in the “No Mo” community – Lisa Manterfield who writes the blog, “Life without Baby,” Melanie Notkin, author of the book “Otherhood” and creator of the lifestyle brand “Savvy Aunties,” and Laura Scott, who developed the Childless by Choice project.
The podcast is no longer available online.
There have been several recent articles published on the benefits and challenges of never having children. Click below for more information.
The Globe and Mail – There are Other Options to Motherhood.
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