What, No Baby?

What, No Baby? takes us on journey into the lives of contemporary women who plan to have it all - marriage, motherhood and work - yet have been derailed by reluctant men, insatiably demanding jobs and ever-climbing expectations of what it takes to be a "good" mother.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics predicts that 25% of Australian women currently in their reproductive years will never have children. Yet respected researcher and ethicists Leslie Cannold argues that women want to mother as much as they ever did. What has changed is their willingness to sacrifice everything they've built - everything they are - to do so. Drawing on demographic data. social research and insights gained from interviews with women in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, Cannold shows that the easier society makes it for women to combine parenthood and paid work, the closer women get to having the number of children they want.

At the end of the 21st century, it is women's freedom to mother that is most at risk. Guaranteed to reshape the current debate around sustained low fertility, What, no baby? is a must-red for everyone concerned about Australia's fertility rate and for women who want to better understand - and to solve - the social problems keeping them from fulfilling lives in which children play a part.

Interested in Joining a "Childless by Circumstance" women's group? Find out more here.

What Critics Are Saying About What, No Baby?

"This is easily the best book I have read about the dilemma facing young women in their choice - or lack thereof - today... If Cannold challenges the public agenda as effectively as she sets out to, Australian women in their 20s and 30s will breathe a sigh of relief."

Julia Baird
Editor SMH
Author of Media Tarts

"Cannold's philosophical perspective on this issue is unique."

The Australian

"...after a spate of books and opinion pieces that have laid blame at the stilettoed feet of 'selfish' career women, it's a relief to finally read a book that refuses to harangue young women."

The Sydney Morning Herald

What Readers are Saying About What, No Baby?

"I have been deeply moved following reading your book, What, No Baby? as I very much relate to what you wrote ... I shed tears it was so applicable to my situation ... Thank you for your time, effort & energy to represent women such as myself who are childless by circumstance."

Naomi Godslove

"I've just finished reading your book What, No Baby?. Excellent stuff, I agreed with almost all of it and it has given me huge food for thought. Congratulations."

Marcus Holmes

"Thank you so much for What, No Baby?. It was great to read a balanced, evidence-based book that helped my husband and I to understand are own experiences while we try to seek a better work/life balance."

Sue, parent of 2 preschoolers and part-time paediatrician

"It is such a relief that at last some one has spoken the truth about the matter."

Lisbeth Jardine

"I would like to say thank you for your recent book What, No Baby? I am only sorry you didn't write it 25 years ago. If you had, I might have done things differently."

Kate Cosgrove

"Finally, you have put this issue (which has been brewing below the surface for years) on the social and political map! It has been enormously validating to read What, No Baby?."

Anne de Silva

"I just read What, no baby after being recommended it by a friend and wanted you to know how much I enjoyed it - couldn't put it down in fact! I could relate to it on so many levels and want to thank you for writing such an intelligent, yet accessible (and fun!) text."

Arabella Teniswood-Harvey

"I just wanted to say I have really enjoyed your book, What, no baby?... I agree with you strongly that we need to change the dynamics of the workplace (P/T work options for both men and women, and more family-friendly practices etc.) and gender stereotypes for both men and women in order to address the issue of circumstantial childlessness....Your book is so valuable in that it contributes significantly with getting these issues on the table."

Jane Hasler

Some Online Reviews of What, No Baby

• http://www.api-network.com/cgi-bin/reviews/jrbview.cgi?n=1920731881
• http://www.ipa.org.au/files/review57-3.pdf
• http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3359/is_200501/ai_n15089495
• http://www.emsah.uq.edu.au/awsr/awbr/issues/139/05.htm
• http://www.capersbookstore.com.au/scripts/shop_item.asp?by=aut&item=1818
• http://www.acoss.org.au/upload/publications/magazines/191__AJSI%200205%20text.pdf