Coming to Terms with Being Involuntarily Childless

Are you involuntarily childless?

When I was young I assumed I’d become a mother one day. At no point did I consider this wouldn’t be part of my destiny. With the naivety of a child, throughout my twenties and thirties, I thought I’d have children easily. Yet here I am in my fifties finding myself involuntarily childless.

My intention in writing this blog is primarily to share my story in the hope it gives comfort to women in the same position–women who wanted children but for whatever reason, it hasn’t happened. You are not alone. It is possible to create a joyful and meaningful life without children–even if it’s not what you’d hoped for.

If you are a parent, I urge you to read on to hear what some of your friends, relatives, and colleagues may be going through. When I’ve shared my experience with friends most have been surprised to discover what goes on for childless women.

Almost 20% of women don’t have children

Not only is being involuntarily childless incredibly distressing and challenging. It’s also a desperately lonely and isolating experience. During my child-bearing years, I didn’t know anyone else who was in the same position as me. Or at least no one was talking about it.

Yet in England and Wales, 19% of women who reached the age of 45 in 2018 were childless at the end of their child-bearing years. That’s a lot of women who either choose not to have children or who find themselves involuntarily childless. If this is you, you are not alone.

The silent pain of being involuntarily childless

The yearning to have children isn’t something you can turn on or off. Today and throughout history, many women are living with this unmet natural craving, the untamed life force within that calls for us to reproduce and nurture our young. This natural hormonal feminine energy is passed down through our DNA. It is hard to escape from unless you’ve never felt the urge.

Women who are involuntarily childless are often quietly nursing a wounded heart, doubting their worthiness and questioning the meaning of life. They are constantly also trying to brush off insensitive expectations, prejudices, and comments made by those around them.

Modern society has yet to break free from prejudices against childless women. Pregnancies and births are celebrated. But there is no societal norm for acknowledging the invisible pain of those struggling to conceive or those who are not in a position to have children.

Thankfully I’ve now got to a place where I feel a deep sense of meaning and contentment in my life, without children. Yes, I still feel a sadness in my heart but far less so than I did when I was younger. My quest for motherhood, and subsequently letting go of this dream has been a long and often painful journey.

My thirties: hope, loneliness, and desperation in being involuntarily childless

My thirties were the hardest time. As a woman trying unsuccessfully to have children, so many women around me seemed to find it easy. Every month felt like a terrible loss, with most days packed with constant reminders of what was missing in my life.

Every time a friend or colleague announced they were pregnant I’d make sure I expressed joy in front of them but secretly inside me I felt a part of me had died. I’d hold it together until I was alone again–and cry. Sometimes I’d need to make excuses to leave. Then I’d feel guilty about getting upset about such a joyous time for others. I also experienced this cycle of grief almost every time I was supporting pregnant friends and was in the company of friends with their children.

Yes of course I still loved spending time with my friends. It was just often an emotional experience, especially where conversations revolved around babies and being a mum.

Over time many of my friends drifted off into motherhood and an exclusive club to which I would never belong. My friends quite rightly had other priorities and responsibilities, so of course, this was going to happen.

But I felt isolated. It’s a very lonely time when one group of friends disappears before you’ve built up a new circle of women without children. Especially when you’re not yet ready to accept that a life without children could be your reality.

Ever feel that way? Check out my blog Want More Childless Friends?

5 Hurtful things people say to women without children

This distressing time was only made worse when those with ‘child privilege’ asked insensitive questions or thoughtless comments. I’m sure most were made with good intentions but the nature of these often upsets people without children:

When are you starting a family? A question rarely asked by those trying to conceive as we’re very aware of the pain this question can cause. It implies the purpose of life is to have children, the norm is for adults to have children and that everyone who wants will be able to.


Are you not thinking of having a family? A variation of the first question that’s often asked with a judgement that it’s odd not to have children. For me, this reinforced the feeling there was something wrong with me (which I was already feeling). The worst comments were from mothers passing judgment on me and questioning my values for having chosen a career over having children.


You could always adopt or try IVF – Ah yes. Not only are both these options very different from having your own children naturally, they are also lengthy processes most of us will have considered and tried too. Lots of people think IVF is the magic solution but by the time many of us get to this stage, the chances of success are slim. In the UK between 2014 to 2016, there was a 77-98% failure rate, for women over 35. I tried IVF in my mid-thirties, but it didn’t work. I was also on a waiting list for over five years to adopt children before deciding I needed to move forward with my life.


There’s more to life than having children – Really? You don’t need to tell us this. We’re already spending more time than parents trying all sorts of things to fill the hole in our hearts. I was OK hearing this from other childless women who were further ahead in the process of creating a meaningful life. But when said by parents, it often felt like they were dismissing my feelings as unjustified and thought I should just be getting on with life. Even though I was also often judged for doing so and not prioritising having a family.


Children aren’t all they are cut out to be – the clanger to someone without children. Don’t get me wrong, I hear having children is one of the most rewarding and challenging things anyone can do. But, I don’t see many parents voluntarily handing them back!

To well-intentioned parents, I realise that it’s not easy to know what to say to people without children, all I suggest is that you be mindful that you could be speaking to someone who has been trying to have children, is having lots of miscarriages, or has lost a child.

Desperation then set in as my first marriage fell apart. I found myself in my late thirties and waking up to the reality that the likelihood of me becoming a mother was slipping away. Had I known how much harder it is to conceive at forty than it is in our early thirties, I may have left my ‘practice’ marriage and/or started IVF sooner.

My forties: grieving, perimenopause, and questioning the meaning of life

When I realised I wasn’t going to have my own children, a gaping dark hole opened up in my heart. I started questioning the purpose of my life without children.

Thankfully by this time, I’d become a life coach and therapist so I was well-equipped to lift my mood, cope better, and start creating an alternative meaningful life.

At a conscious level, I knew there were many other things I could do with my life. However, my body wasn’t ready to let go of its hormonal craving until a decade later.

Developing good friendships with women in a similar position certainly helped. Plus I’d re-married a wonderful man and become a stepmom to two young women I am very fond of. Even though they add a welcome dimension to my life, becoming a step-mum to older children is a far more detached experience than how I imagine I’d feel with my own children.

Like many other childless women, I tried to get my need to nurture met by volunteering. I told myself there were plenty of children in the world I could help rather than having my own children. Maybe my purpose was to serve others’ children. I feel very blessed to have been involved in a charity helping young genocide survivors in Rwanda. It was wonderful to get to know a small group of incredible young people through regular trips and online support over a five-year period. Being involved in this project certainly helped by giving me another focus. But I still questioned my value to humanity.

By the time I reached my mid-forties, I was beginning to accept the reality of the situation and explore other ways to satisfy that internal primal need. That’s when I thankfully saw Jody Day’s TEDx talk The Lost Tribe of Childless Women. Gosh, that was such a relief. I could relate to so much of what Jody said. At last, I realised I was not alone. It was reassuring to hear so many other women have a similar experience.

For the first time, I also felt I had permission to grieve. Every month for years I’d been silently grieving–for the loss of not having children, the loss of not enjoying family life, the loss of never becoming a grandmother, and for not being equal to other women in the eyes of society. Before seeing Jody’s talk, expressing this ‘loss’ had felt like a taboo. I was concerned others would think I was being overly emotional. Little did I know at the time that my emotions were also being triggered by fluctuating and dipping levels of estrogen as I’d started going through Perimenopause–common for women to start to experience from their early forties and research shows sometimes younger for childless women.

Now it all started to make sense and I was able to start letting go of my grief. It didn’t take away the loss or the fact that I needed to find something else to give my life meaning. But it did enable me to move on to the next stage of acceptance and exploring my purpose without children. Isn’t the purpose of life to have children and keep the human species going? Why else am I on this planet?

A pivotal moment

In 2017 something happened that changed my sense of worthiness—I helped save a man’s life. In a brief moment of thanks from him, I felt an instant surge of healing that I deserved my place on this planet. I may not have had my own children, but I had saved a life and at last, I felt I could justify my life.

My fifties: acceptance, menopause, and connecting to a sense of meaning

Thankfully all the work I’ve done to heal from not having children and to connect to a deeper sense of meaning has paid off. I still feel sadness in my heart but it’s no longer acute or painful. Thankfully I’m really happy again and it’s good to be able to enjoy the company of parents and children with joy in my heart.

Instead of focusing on what’s missing, I practice gratitude for the life I have and the many wonderful friends I have around me–many of whom I wouldn’t have met had I had children. Plus some of my closest friends from years ago are re-emerging now their children have grown up. I’ve also had the space to develop a successful business and spend more time participating in hobbies.

Together with an amazing group of friends, I raised funds to build a school in Cambodia and led the team on a trip to visit the country and school in early 2020. Doing this helped me combine my love of travel and my desire to make a difference in the world. I also brought together another team of women who have sponsored the world’s second earthquake-resistant school made of recycled plastic.

I’m sure letting go has been made easier because of the stage of life I’m at too. Menopause seems to have released me from that hormonal urge to have children. Phew, what a relief! That said, it wasn’t an easy journey as I write about in my blog Involuntarily Childless: Re-igniting Hope Post Menopause.

I guess when we get to this twilight time of life we’re also more conscious of our fragility and making the most of life.

Making the most of life without children

So what’s next? I’m honestly not sure other than continuing to focus on making the most of life in ways that light up my heart and make a difference to others. Plus helping other women to do the same. Continuing to lead teams of women in sponsoring and visiting schools in Asia has given me a new sense of purpose. I’m excited about the opportunities that lie ahead.

There may be times in the future when I’ll feel a sense of loss again e.g. missing out on having grandchildren. I’m not going to dwell on that. There are plenty of parents who never become grandparents. Instead, I choose to focus on the liberation I can enjoy as an older woman who is free to create and embrace a different sort of life.

Summary Becoming involuntarily childless is one of the most heartbreaking experiences we can go through in life. It is real grief you go through every single month until you reach menopause–unless you take action to heal from your trauma.
If you’re at the early stage of your journey and have not reached menopause, there is hope and I wish you all the best. Plenty of people nowadays have children in their forties. If you are fortunate enough to get pregnant, remember the perspective and feelings of women around you who don’t have children.
Being childless not through choice is a silent form of grief that’s hard to speak about with most people. However, it’s possible to heal your grief and trauma and be happy again, with the support of an experienced therapist and coach.
Spending more time with other childless people is one of the best ways to still feel you can get on with life. Naturally, over time, you may discover whether they are childless through choice or in a similar position to you. Either way, at least you won’t be surrounded by children or people talking about their children. Check out my blog, Want More Childless Friends? <HERE>.
There will come a time when it will be in your best interests to stop dwelling on what you don’t have and start exploring how to embrace a happy meaningful life without children. Read more about how to do this in my blog How to Enjoy a Life of Purpose and Meaning Without Children <HERE>. What about you?

Have you resonated with anything I’ve shared? What thoughts, ideas or emotions has this triggered?

Whatever stage you’re at, know whatever you’re feeling as an involuntarily childless woman is normal. If you are involuntarily childless please be reassured you are not alone. There are many people, tools, techniques, and healthy interventions available to help you cope better during this challenging time.

Want help in coming to terms with being involuntarily childless? That’s one of the things I help women do so they can go on and create a happy meaningful life without children.

Connecting to other childless women

You may feel lonely but you’re not alone. With almost 20% of women reaching menopause not having children, there are more of us than you think and there are likely to be many women who would love to be your friend. It’s just you may not know them – yet.

Connecting and becoming good friends with other childless women was a game-changer for me, as I write about in this blog, Childless and Want More Friends. Or check out my Nourishing Friendships book <HERE>.

Here are other blogs I’ve written you may find helpful:

Childlessness: How Leaning into Charitable Activities Helped Me Find Meaning
How to Enjoy a Life of Purpose and Meaning Without Children
7 Steps to Enjoying a Fulfilling & Meaningful Life
Involuntarily Childless: Re-igniting Hope Post Menopause Your invitation to enjoy and meaningful life without children

It’s not what happens to you that determines how you feel, but how you choose to respond to life events. This includes how you define ‘meaning’ and the extent to which you explore the many different ways to add meaning to your life.

I encourage you to be open to the possibility that you could create a life of meaning, purpose, fulfilment, and vitality without children.

Imagine what that could look like for you…

You never know, you could find this next stage of your journey easier and more enjoyable than the turbulent years of trying to have children.

Above all else, remember you deserve to be happy. This is within your grasp as soon as you’re ready to explore what this could mean for you.

That’s why I now help women who are involuntarily childless to find their purpose and enjoy the company of like-minded friends. Want help creating a future you’ll feel excited about, even if it’s not what you’d hoped for? Contact me to find out more.

With love,

Often described as one of the most authentic and inspiring souls you can meet, Alisoun is on a mission to improve the lives of 100,000 people–by making it easier for midlife women to feel good, make friends, and enjoy a meaningful life.

Alisoun’s keynote talks, training, mentoring, and best-selling books Nourishing Friendships and Heartatude: The 9 Principles of Heart-Centered Success have favourably changed the good fortune of thousands of people worldwide. She loves doing humanitarian work, fundraising, and living by the beach in Scotland.

Connect with Alisoun here: