Jennifer | From Divorce to Self-Discovery
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
Release Date: 06/03/2025
Sonia and Aamer | A Conscious “One & Done” Choice
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
Originally from Pakistan and now based in Canada, Sonia and Aamer met as adults. They decided together that they wanted to become parents, but were also deeply concerned about the environment. After spending a few years carefully weighing their emotional and financial readiness, environmental values, and desire for parenthood, they chose to have one child. Right after the birth of their son, they knew that their family of five, including two rescue dogs, was complete. Interested in being on the show? Submit your story here: . About Beyond Pronatalism To have or not have kids is...
info_outline
Jennifer | From Divorce to Self-Discovery
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
After nearly becoming a mother in a marriage that wasn’t right, Jennifer shares how divorce and a commitment to self-definition became her path to clarity. Starting over has been emotionally wrenching, but she's forging her own path of deep friendship, meaningful community service, and dedication to authentically being herself. Interested in being on the show? Submit your story here: . About Beyond Pronatalism 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...
info_outline
Kat | A Black Feminist Upbringing
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
Raised in a Black feminist family of highly educated women committed to service, grew up without the pressure to marry or have children. Single and childfree, Kat channels her time and energy into projects that make a difference - building a life of purpose, freedom, and joy. Interested in being on the show? Submit your story here: . About Beyond Pronatalism 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...
info_outline
Paddy | Joyfully Rejecting the System
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
Paddy’s emotionally-detached boarding school upbringing left him distrustful of authority, including the unspoken expectation to have children. A growing awareness of ecological and social crises and the desire to break a cycle of generational family trauma led him to choose a vasectomy. Today, he and his wife enjoy a joyful life while standing up to oppressive systems. Interested in being on the show? Submit your story here: . About Beyond Pronatalism 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...
info_outline
Luke and Stefanie | The Simple Joys of a Childfree Life
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
Luke and Stefanie reflect on how, free from strong family or religious pressure and true to their own desires, they were able to make an early, mutual decision to live childfree. They reflect on the enormous emotional weight they've seen parents carry and express a profound relief and gratitude that they can enjoy meaningful, well-lived, childfree lives in kinship with the natural world. See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript: Interested in being on the show? Submit your story here: . About Beyond Pronatalism To have or not have kids is one of...
info_outline
Elizabet | Confessions of a Regretful Mother
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
Elizabet, the daughter of Bulgarian immigrants in the Czech Republic, shares her experience of coming out as gay in her teens and subsequently raising a child alone. She now speaks openly about her parental regret, rooted in her worry for both her child's future and her deep love for the natural world and concern for its destruction. See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript: Interested in being on the show? Submit your story here: . About Beyond Pronatalism To have or not have kids is one of the biggest decisions we make in our lives, and yet how many of us...
info_outline
Chetana | The Gift of Biological Childlessness
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
A childhood illness leaves Chetana unable to give birth. After enduring the pronatalist shame of biological childlessness for many years from both her Indian immigrant family and the broader Midwestern US culture, she reflects on the possibilities this opened up for her, and how many women are denied those possibilities by pronatalism. See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript: Interested in being on the show? Submit your story here: . About Beyond Pronatalism To have or not have kids is one of the biggest decisions we make in our lives, and yet how many of us...
info_outline
Bob | An Adoptee’s Journey of Self-Discovery
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
Born to a barmaid and adopted into a Southern Baptist home at the age of 6, Bob struggled with forming attachments. At 74, Bob reflects on the unconventional pathway his life took and what it took to find himself. See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript: Interested in being on the show? Submit your story here: . About Beyond Pronatalism 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...
info_outline
Jane | An OB-GYN on the Lack of True Choice
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
Jane went into obstetrics and gynecology after her own terrifying pregnancy experience. Now a fulfilled single mother of two, she shares her observations on the pressures women experience to have children, on the ethics of having children amid the global ecological crisis, and on her own fight against the pronatalism of her profession. See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript: About Beyond Pronatalism 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...
info_outline
Mariko | Mixed-Race and Childfree
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
Raised by a Japanese father and a German mother in two contrasting cultural settings, Mariko always had the alienating sense of not quite fitting in. To spare their children the same unease, and to follow their personal life passions, she and her partner choose the childfree path. See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript: About Beyond Pronatalism 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...
info_outlineAfter nearly becoming a mother in a marriage that wasn’t right, Jennifer shares how divorce and a commitment to self-definition became her path to clarity. Starting over has been emotionally wrenching, but she's forging her own path of deep friendship, meaningful community service, and dedication to authentically being herself.
https://www.populationbalance.org/beyond-pronatalism-podcast/jennifer
Interested in being on the show? Submit your story here: https://www.populationbalance.org/beyond-pronatalism-podcast.
About Beyond Pronatalism
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.
Beyond Pronatalism is brought to you by Population Balance - the only nonprofit organization advancing ecological and reproductive justice by confronting pronatalism.
Visit https://www.populationbalance.org/beyond-pronatalism-podcast to subscribe, learn more, and submit your story!
Episodes released every two weeks. Find us on Apple podcasts, Spotify, and all other podcast platforms.
Copyright 2025 Population Balance