What biological clock?
The number of American women in their early 40s who have never given birth has almost doubled since the 1970s, leaving almost one in five nearing the end of their child-bearing years without kids, according to a new report.
Among women aged 40 to 44, about 18 percent, or 1.9 million, were childless in 2008. That’s up from 10 percent, or almost 580,000, in 1976, said the Pew Research study.
“Scholars say that social pressure to bear children appears to have diminished for women, and that today the decision to have a child is seen as an individual choice,” according to the report.
There are an equal number of women in this age group who are childless by choice as there are who would like kids but cannot have them.
A majority of the women aged 40-44 without kids are either holding out hope to have them or unable to have them, with 43 percent voluntarily childless, according to a related study.
Childlessness is still most common among women with the highest education — but that group’s rates of childlessness has declined in 10 years.
Marital status is often tied to whether a woman has children. Those who have never married are more than four times as likely to be childless as women who have.
In New York City, “the number of births since the 1970s has gone down,” which appears to support the Pew findings.
Danielle Cruz, 47, a secretary, said she and her husband have found an alternative to having children.
“I don’t have kids; I have four dogs,” she said as she took a break in Bryant Park.
Suzanne Voss, 53, said she really never planned for kids.
“For me it just didn’t happen,” the Midtown advertising worker said. “It’s probably more common in New York. Women are more career-minded here and have higher-paying jobs, which may reduce the pool of available men.”
Sociologist Andrew Hacker, a professor at Queens College, said: “Let’s face it. Children can be a drag.
“They take up a huge slice of your life with an uncertain payback,” he told The Post. “A lot of educated women are deciding there are other investments they would like to make.”
* 56% of women 40-44 who never married were childless in 2008, compared with 71% in 1994.
* 24% of women 40-44 with an advanced degree had not had a child, a drop from 31%.
* 41% think children are very important for a successful marriage.
Deborah Branch, 49″
Single media lawyer
Upper West Side
When Branch was younger, she put off having children and concentrated on her career, thinking she’d meet someone later — but never did.
“I waited because I didn’t want to have kids when I was in my 20s,” she said. “I just assumed I’d meet someone later. I’m a lawyer, so I’m focused on my career.” While she has no children, “I have cousins in the city who are married with kids. But most of my female friends don’t have children. There are more professional single women in New York, so if you’re going to be single and childless, why not do it in a cultural center?
Gail Hochfeld, 42
Single director of a senior living group
Manhattan
“It’s so difficult to find the right guy in New York City,” says Hochfeld. She works 50 to 60 hours a week and is always on call, so it’s hard to get out and date. And though she has no kids in the twilight of her child-bearing years, she said having a family is still important to her. She had always pursued her career, and felt it was too difficult to think about children as well.
But now, she said she’s looking to “find a balance and have both career and family.”
She thinks it’s typical for Big Apple women not to have kids at a young age.
“Women choosing not to have children earlier in life is the norm for New York City women, because women want to pursue a career. They go to school and want to put their degrees to use.”
She added that if it turns out she couldn’t have a child, she would consider a foster child and “skip over that diaper phase and get to a more fun time in their lives.”
Dawn Webb, 46
Single teacher
Bedford-Stuyvesant
Dawn Webb is surrounded by kids
all day at school, but decided against having some of her own because ‘’I didn’t want the responsibility.”
“It wasn’t a hard decision,” said Webb, who teaches pre-K to second grade. Her family didn’t agree and applied pressure, hoping she’d change her mind. “[They said], ‘There’ll be no one to take care of you later,’ “ she said. But Webb kept giving them the same response. “I have plenty of nieces and nephews,” she’d tell them, reminding them of her seven young relatives. She said she has no regrets.