Childlessness

Childlessness is not having a child. Since the 1970s, there are more childless people. There are two kinds of childlessness, voluntary and involuntary.

Voluntary childlessness is when people choose to not have children. People do this for several reasons, which include:

• Celibacy (not having sexual intercourse)
• Not wanting to have a child (see Childfree)
• Not having enough money to take care of a child
• Being too old to have a child

Voluntary childlessness is sometimes called childfree.

There are also several reason for involuntary childlessness, including:

• Infertility, which means they are unable to biologically have children.
• the death of an infant or child either before, during, or shortly after birth.

Options for involuntary childlessness

Sometimes a couple can have a child through artificial insemination, when a sperm is place in a woman's uterus immediately after ovulation. Another option is in vitro fertilization (or IVF). In this process, a sperm and an egg are placed together until fertilization happens, then the egg is put into the uterus.