Diana | Motherhood Beyond Patriarchy
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
Release Date: 12/02/2025
Mike and Nandita | A Life-Changing Conversation
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
Mike and Nandita met in a philosophy class in Toronto. Nandita was trying to break out of the traditional cultural norms of her Indian upbringing. Mike was dissatisfied by the hyper-consumerist norms of his culture. With shared values around environmentalism, minimalism, and philosophy, they instantly connected — a connection that soon blossomed into a relationship. A transformative conversation around the subject of having or not having kids led them down a deeply rich and surprising journey. [Note: Podcast host Nandita and her husband Mike are interviewed by guest host Mary Pat Champeau.] ...
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Diana | Motherhood Beyond Patriarchy
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
Growing up in the Soviet Union, Diana felt intense pressure to both excel professionally and become a mother. As a young adult focused on her academic and professional path, her parents' unrelenting pressures for grandchildren left her feeling angry and betrayed. Her rebellion led her to create a multi-media project about regretful mothers titled . An accidental pregnancy followed by a miscarriage made her realize that it wasn't motherhood that she resisted, but rather the coercive pronatalist pressures. Today, she and her husband are joyfully raising their son with egalitarian values and...
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Christine | More than Childless or Childfree
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
Christine grew up in a rural community in midwestern U.S., fearing teen pregnancy and sensing early on that motherhood didn’t appeal to her - as she longed to broaden her horizons through education and travel. After an abusive marriage and a long, difficult divorce, she felt both relief that she hadn’t become a parent in that relationship and grief that the choice was no longer hers. Today, Christine feels gratitude that she didn’t bring a child into a devastated world and acceptance of her nonlinear lifepath. Interested in being on the show? Submit your story here: . About...
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Lucy | Thriving Solo
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
Growing up Lucy assumed she’d follow the traditional path of marriage and motherhood but, as she grew older, she found herself increasingly questioning the dominant cultural script. Despite a brief period of intense broodiness, she realized that the single, childfree life gave her the freedom, peace, and purpose that she craved. Today, through her , Lucy empowers others to reject pronatalist expectations and embrace happiness on their own terms. Interested in being on the show? Submit your story here: . About Beyond Pronatalism To have or not have kids is one of the...
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Pamela | Surviving the Trauma of IVF
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
Distraught by her infertility diagnosis, Pamela pursued the IVF pathway. A decade of costly and painful failed fertility treatments left Pamela traumatized. Determined to expose the exploitative and dangerously pronatalist practices of the highly unregulated multi-billion dollar fertility industry and to bring together other IVF survivors, she founded the “silent sorority” community and the ReproTechTruths website. Today, she and her husband lead deeply fulfilled lives pursuing their many passions. Interested in being on the show? Submit your story here: . About Beyond...
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Mandy | Ending a Bad Arranged Marriage
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
Mandy, a Singaporean teacher of Indian descent, entered an arranged marriage where her decision to remain childfree was first accepted but later challenged by her Indian husband and in-laws. Pressured to have children and provide a dowry, she risked the stigma of divorce rather than compromise her values. Today, Mandy lives happily childfree, courageously embracing a life true to her authentic self. 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...
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Rebecca | Sisters as Chosen Life Partners
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
Rebecca grew up homeschooled in a patriarchal American family, later serving as a Marine, attending university, and traveling the world. Bound by the shared trauma and values of their upbringing, Rebecca remained very close to her sister. Awakening to feminism and the planetary crisis together, they both decided to not have children. Today, Rebecca and her sister live together as each other's chosen life partners surrounded by mutual security, comfort, love, and trust. Interested in being on the show? Submit your story here: . About Beyond Pronatalism To have or not have kids is...
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Sneha | Standing up to Patriarchy
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
Raised in a conservative Indian family, Sneha knew from an early age that she didn't want to have a biological child. As a teen she discovered her queer identity, and in her twenties Sneha made the difficult but liberating decision to leave her parents’ house and hometown. Sneha has rejected the patriarchal expectations of procreation and marriage and embraced her own path - filled with strong friendships, family, and her companion animals. 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...
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Elena | Reimagining Family After Cancer
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
At age 27 Elena is diagnosed with an advanced cancerous brain tumor. As she confronts this life-changing and grief-filled reality, she also wrestles with the question of whether to bring a child into the world - balancing her love for children and the future she once imagined against her understanding of ecological overshoot, pronatalist pressures, and the profound uncertainties of life itself. 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...
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Pip | The Joyful Simplicity of Being Single
Beyond Pronatalism | Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
From a very early age Pip sensed she didn’t want children, and a diagnosis of premature ovarian failure at 15 confirmed that path. As she grew older, Pip found herself desperately searching for the perfect partner to complete her. A chance conversation blew open the door regarding societal expectations around relationships, sex, and conventional measures of success. Childfree, single, and celibate, Pip lives an independent, authentic, and joyful life with her family of two rescue dogs. Interested in being on the show? Submit your story here: . About Beyond Pronatalism To have or...
info_outlineGrowing up in the Soviet Union, Diana felt intense pressure to both excel professionally and become a mother. As a young adult focused on her academic and professional path, her parents' unrelenting pressures for grandchildren left her feeling angry and betrayed. Her rebellion led her to create a multi-media project about regretful mothers titled Undo Motherhood. An accidental pregnancy followed by a miscarriage made her realize that it wasn't motherhood that she resisted, but rather the coercive pronatalist pressures. Today, she and her husband are joyfully raising their son with egalitarian values and shared care work, beyond patriarchy.
https://www.populationbalance.org/beyond-pronatalism-podcast/diana
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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.
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