But deciding not to have children is a very, very hard decision for a woman to make: the atmosphere is worryingly in conducive to saying, "I choose not to," or "it all sounds a bit vile, TBH." We call these women "selfish" The inference of the word "childless" is negative: one of lack, and loss. We think of nonmothers as rangy lone wolves--rattling around, as dangerous as teenage boys or men. Furthermore, we make women feel that their narrative has ground to a halt in their thirties if they don't "finish things" properly and have children.

How to Be a Woman