A growing number of Latin American women are choosing not to give birth in a radical departure from the traditional family roles that have long dominated in the region. - REUTERS
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00:00In many Latin American cultures, woman equals mother, as traditional family roles have long
00:07dominated in the region.
00:08ISABEL CORTEZ-HOGUIN, Mother of Isabel Cortez-Hoguin
00:09If you are born a woman with reproductive capacity, then you are going to have children
00:13at some point.
00:14But a growing number of women here, like Isabel Cortez-Hoguin, are choosing not to give birth,
00:21in a radical departure from deeply ingrained expectations of motherhood.
00:26It's important to be aware that motherhood is a decision and should never be felt to
00:30be an obligation.
00:34The shift is raising fears of an aging population creating a burden for the taxpayer.
00:41It's also highlighting how a combination of financial constraints, a lack of state support
00:47and a desire to prioritize careers is pushing women like Cortez into imagining a different
00:53future.
00:54That's why she and Eran Sosa-Diaz founded the online global community Nunca Madres,
01:00or Never Mothers, in 2021.
01:02The group offers workshops analyzing topics from societal stigma to workplace discrimination
01:08to personal finance.
01:10ERAN SOSA-DIAZ, Founder, Nunca Madres
01:11Nunca Madres was born not only out of the need for us to be able to talk about these
01:15issues, but also because we know they're not discussed much.
01:21So we wanted to find a way to be able to expand that conversation.
01:27Many members say they feel pressured by relatives who believe they'll regret the decision not
01:32to have a family and have no one to look after them in old age.
01:37Figures show Latin America and the Caribbean has seen the most dramatic decline in birth
01:41rates of any region globally since 1950.
01:46There is little worldwide data on why women choose not to have children, but Nunca Madres
01:51says economic concerns are the top reason women give, including the risk of losing
01:56their jobs or stalling their career progression.
01:59Climate change comes next, as members question the wisdom of raising children in places where
02:04water is being rationed.
02:06NUNCA MADRES OFFERS THE SUPPORT THAT RIGHT NOW WE HAVE FOUND IS MOST NEEDED, BOTH FOR
02:16WOMEN WHO HAVE ALREADY DECIDED NOT TO BE MOTHERS AND FOR WOMEN WHO ARE IN THE PROCESS OF DECIDING
02:20WHETHER OR NOT TO BE MOTHERS.
02:25Global birth rates have shrunk since contraception became widely commercialized in the 1960s.
02:32But experts say poor protection against gender violence and a lack of support for prospective
02:37mothers have contributed to a steeper decline in Latin America.
02:41In Europe, free early child care policies and paternity leave have somewhat helped boost
02:46birth rates.
02:47But experts say not many equivalent policies exist in Latin America, where some governments
02:53are instead increasing restrictions on abortion, contraception and sex education.
02:59As figures from the World Bank show more women in the region have been joining the workforce,
03:04Nunca Madres says it's important for women to have role models that provide alternatives
03:09to motherhood.
03:10When you don't have this representation of women who are not mothers by choice in full,
03:17for example, you can't imagine beyond what you don't see or don't know.
03:25Representation is always important in order to be able to imagine different futures or
03:29different choices.