More women choosing single motherhood

Higher rates of unmarried childbearing are tied in part to the growing incidence of women choosing single motherhood through adoption or donor insemination, according to a study released by the Pew Institute, Los Angeles. Using U.S. Census data and responses from a phone survey, researchers report that the rate of unmarried childbearing jumped from just over five percent in 1960 to almost 40% today.

Observers note that, since the 1980s, the number of Choice Moms (women deciding to have children without a partner) has increased, while their average age has decreased. Further, the decision to have at least two children has become more prevalent.

Choice Motherhood, which includes heterosexual and lesbian women, has developed into a national movement. Professional women seeking to have children without spouses or partners have created support networks for themselves which include newsletters, online discussion groups, blogs, and books focused on being a Choice Mom. Based on census data of unmarried women in their 30s giving birth, as well as the percentages of single women who adopt, roughly 50,000 women take this step each year.

"I'm finding that more women under 30 are becoming Choice Moms," says Mikki Morrissette, author of Choosing Single Motherhood; editor of the Voices of Donor Conception book series, and founder of Minneapolis-based Choice Moms LLC. "This is likely part of the divorce culture--grown children largely raised by single parents who are now forming their own families in nontraditional ways. Women also are hearing the message that their fertility greatly diminishes after the age of 35, when many are finally settled into established careers, often with postgraduate degrees that have limited their attention to dating, and it reflects the trend that more women are choosing to leave men who do not want kids."

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While official statistics are not readily available for the growing Choice Motherhood movement, changes in the clientele at fertility clinics and sperm banks tell the story. According to the California Cryobank, the world's largest sperm bank, single women currently make up over 30% of their clients. "Ten years ago, about 80% of our clients were married couples faced with male infertility. Today, approximately 40% are hetero couples, while the other 60% are single women and lesbian couples," CEO Gary Weinhouse explains.

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COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning