Orna Donath is a professor at Tel Aviv University and is the author of the landmark book "Regretting Motherhood." During our conversation, Orna talks about the lessons from her research, her own "silent knowing" that she didn't want to be a mom, the importance of knowing oneself, and her new research of elderly, childless women in Israel. Orna also talks about the role of fear in pressuring women to become a mom, her yearly dialogue with a dozen women who are trying to decide whether to have kids, healthy models for childless women, and her interviews with childless men.

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00:00 Intro

00:36 Stories of women who have regretted having kids

05:08 What has been traumatic to women about becoming mothers?

10:04 The role of fear in pressuring women to have kids

16:41 The lack of healthy models for women without kids

23:31 Lessons from elderly, childless women

28:51 Lessons from women who are wrestling with whether to have kids

35:57 Meaning and purpose in life without kids

42:27 Quotes in praise or Orna and her work

44:18 Men who don't want to have kids

54:46 Addressing questions Orna wants to answer