Mothers who regret having kids: 'I wished I were holding a cat and not a baby'

In early 2017, with her 45th birthday looming and no sign of Mr. Right, she decided to start a family on her own. She excitedly unfroze the 11 eggs she had stored and selected a sperm donor.

Two eggs failed to survive the thawing process. Three more failed to fertilize. That left six embryos, of which five appeared to be abnormal. The last one was implanted in her uterus. On the morning of March 7, she got the devastating news that it, too, had failed.

Adams was not pregnant, and her chances of carrying her genetic child had just dropped to near zero. She remembers screaming like “a wild animal,” throwing books, papers, her laptop — and collapsing to the ground.

A helpful question to ask oneself before starting a family is: Are you able to love your child more than yourself? If the answer is yes, there is a good chance you will enjoy parenting. If the answer is no, then perhaps you should refrain from having a family and consider getting a pet instead.

What is known from copious amounts of research is that single motherhood despite all of the social programs designed to help it it's not a desirable situation to be in. So it becomes obvious people are opting out of having kids because they're also opting out of long-term relationships as well. You will see a decline in both of those.

If society promotes families and long-term relationships you will see an increased desire to have children together.