WE ARE CHILDFREE

I got a bilateral salpingectomy just this week and I could not be happier with solidifying my decision not to birth children.

I have several reasons for not wanting to have biological kids – the environmental impact on our Earth, the toll it would take on my mind and body, the constant battle for women to live safe and happy lives in
this world, creating another worker for our capitalist society, etc.

Luckily, I grew up in a city and have had access to birth control since I was 19. Thank you Planned Parenthood.

I had planned to keep getting IUDs until I was past child-bearing age, but with the constant fight over women’s health in the US, I requested a permanent birth control and the whole process was rather quick and smooth (about 3-4 months since I first called).

I was not questioned about my decision and the day of the surgery, my whole operating team was female and that felt like a good sign. I’ve been recovering well and I’m so grateful to have gotten this procedure. Especially at a time when women’s rights in the US are under constant attack.

There are so many young girls being told that motherhood is their only future and women being denied access to make their own choices. Both my grandmothers had 10 children each, starting at 15 and 16 years old. For years, women in my family have been told by religion and by society that it is our duty to birth children.

I’ve been really lucky in having supportive parents who never pressured me to “give them grandkids.” I am eternally grateful to my ancestors and women before me, so I could get to this point… to decide that I don’t want to have biological children and to be proud of my decision.

I have a home of my own, a career that I love (working with kids), I have my dog who brightens my days, and I have the opportunity to travel often.

My life is filled with love, adventures, and fun. I have so many plans for my future, that I know being pregnant and having a biological child were not a part of.

There’s still a lot of change that needs to happen in regard to how we talk about women and our choices. We are people, we are not just “declining birth rates.” For most of us that are childfree by choice, our decisions have been made with a lot of love and thought. That’s our right.

It’s important for us to share our stories and for our choices to be celebrated just as much as having a baby would. I would love for future generations to know they have options and the right to make life decisions for themselves.