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Beyond Pronatalism
Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
To have or not have kids is one of the biggest decisions we make in our lives, and yet how many of us know that we even have a choice about how we define and create our families? Beyond Pronatalism host Nandita Bajaj interviews women and men from diverse backgrounds who are courageously and creatively navigating pronatalism - the powerful pressures to have children - whether from family, friends, or the culture at large. Through intimate conversations, they discuss how they are forging unconventional pathways to fulfillment, including redefining what family means to them - whether that means being childfree or childless, having biological children, adopting or fostering children or animals, or creating close-knit communities of friends and loved ones.
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Episodes
Melissa - on finding fulfillment as an empty nester
Following in the footsteps of her grandparents, Melissa gave birth to four kids in rapid succession. She found raising children to be incredibly rewarding, yet wishes she had first taken the time to discover herself. As an empty nester, she is finally finding that time.
Juan Camilo - on leading by example as a childfree educator
Juan Camilo made a decision when he was just a teenager: that he would not bring children into a world where they would suffer. Despite the pressures of living in conservative Colombia, he has managed to stick to his convictions.
Milly & Mik - on healing and celebrating family through adoption
Raised in disparate cultures across the world, Milly and Mik had different ideas about what kind of family they wanted. But there was one thing they agreed on: adoption (of three dogs and a child!) was the way to go!
Laura - on escaping the Trad Wife culture of the U.S. South
Raised in the conservative Deep South of the United States, Laura always believed having kids was a requirement. When she found out it was optional, suddenly everything changed.
Ash - on rejecting Mormonism and motherhood
A Mormon upbringing, an accidental pregnancy, and lack of access to abortion services drove Ash to bear a child against her wishes. Committed to taking back her stolen autonomy, Ash takes a surprising path.
Hans Peter - on his most loving gift - a vasectomy at 25
Raised in a small Catholic village in Germany, Hans Peter had always questioned traditional norms. Concerned about the ecological crisis and threats to women's reproductive rights, he gifted himself a vasectomy on his 25th birthday. Today he spends his time with his wife joyfully nurturing the planet.
Sara - on the relief of IVF failure
Unable to have children naturally, Sara went through a harrowing IVF journey, only to realize following her unsuccessful treatments that she had never wanted children and had just escaped from a painfully pronatalist trap.
Tania & Brian - on love, life, and 38 animals
Deeply in love with each other and their 38 animals, Tania and Brian share their vastly different upbringing that set them on their childfree paths. Tania and her family moved to the U.S. on asylum from Ukraine post-Chernobyl. Brian grew up in a Latino/Native American family in Texas, U.S. with severely limited resources. Their love for animals brought them together.
Vincie - on transcending rigid gender roles in Asian culture
Born and raised in densely-populated Hong Kong and having lived in different parts of the world, Vincie was always deeply concerned about the poor plight of children. She talks about wrestling with traditional family norms and gender roles within Asian culture and arriving at a more liberated decision to not have biological children.
Lili - on breaking free from large-family norms in Haiti
Born and raised in Haiti, and now living in the US, Lili shares her story about her pronatalist upbringing in which having large families was the norm. After many years of dreading motherhood, she learned about the choice to not have children. Today, Lili is happily childfree and is using her spare time and resources to support others in her family and community.
Juliana - on choosing childfree in Colombia
Raised within the religiously-conservative Colombian culture with a lonely and isolated childhood, Juliana describes her journey of finding liberation by rejecting harmful societal norms and choosing a radical pathway of becoming a childfree environmentalist and animal rights activist.
Mary Pat - on shaking loose from her Catholic roots
Raised in a large Irish-Catholic family at the height of the 60s liberation movements in the United States, Mary Pat unpacks her many life transformations, from rejecting her pro-life roots and choosing a small biological and adoptive family to becoming a staunch advocate for the rights of people, animals, and the planet.
Brittany - on leaving an extremist religious community
Raised in an extremist religious community within the United States, Brittany, the youngest of 11 children, recounts her story of navigating her aspirations for freedom against the backdrop of an intensely oppressive and neglectful upbringing and how she mustered the courage to break free.
Episodes will be released every two weeks, beginning Tuesday, July 30 2024, and will be available on Apple podcasts, Spotify, and all podcast platforms.
Producer and Host: Nandita Bajaj
Production Team: Josh Wild, Elisabeth Strunk, Alan Ware, Kirsten Stade
Share your story!
Would you like to be on the show to share your own story? We’d love to hear from you!
Join our list
Subscribe to our newsletter and be the first to know when a new episode is launched.
Listen on your favorite app