Those of us in the US and UK may feel a bit pressured sometimes because we don't have children, but it's a lot worse in some other countries. India offers some particularly painful examples. A woman contacted me a year or so ago to tell me about her situation. She had not been able to conceive. Doctors found nothing wrong with her; her husband refused to be tested. Her in-laws persecuted her constantly over the lack of children. They didn't care that she was highly educated and a college professor. If she wasn't a mother, she had failed.
A more shocking case made the news last month. An Indian woman was harassed so badly over her failure to produce children that she finally kidnapped six male infants. When one of them died, she abandoned him, but her husband didn't know the children weren't his and was quite pleased--until she got caught. Read about it in this article from the UK's Telegraph or this piece from Calcutta.
A different kind of pressure has inspired the creation of the fake "Kid in a Kit." Intended for office workers who feel cheated by the moms and dads who get extra time off for parenting duties, the kit includes photos of a child, kid-type artwork, faux doctors' notes, and sample excuses to get out of work. Fun!
You never know what a childless woman will do. :-)
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