'Living the Life Unexpected' by Jody Day (Bluebird / PanMacmillan 2016)

Across the globe, millions of women are reaching their mid-forties without having had a child. Although some are child-free by choice, many others are childless by circumstance and are struggling in a life they didn't foresee. Most people think that women without children either 'couldn't' or 'didn't want to' be mothers. The truth is much more complex. Jody Day would have liked to have had children, but it didn't work out that way. At the age of forty-four she realized that her quest to be a mother was at an end. She presumed that she was through the toughest part, but over the next couple of years she was hit by waves of grief, despair and isolation. Eventually she found her way and created the Gateway Women Network, helping many thousands of women worldwide. In , Jody Day addresses the taboo of childlessness and provides a powerful, practical 12-week guide to help women come to terms with their grief, and to move on to live creative, happy, meaningful, and fulfilling lives without children.Previously titled Rocking the Life Unexpected, this inspiring and practical guide to a life without children has been extensively revised and updated, and includes significant additional content including extracts from the stories of 24 women and 2 men from around the world.

The average completed family size for women born in 1968, and reaching age 45 in 2013, was 1.92 children per woman. This compares with their mothers' generation, represented by women born in 1941, who had on average 2.34 children. Two children was the most common family size for women born in both 1941 and 1968.

Toggle detail Source: OECD national surveys 2005-2010 (women without children by age and country); OECD data from Eurostat and United Nations Statistical Division and National Statistical Offices (mean age at first child). Note: Childbearing age defined by OECD as women 45 and younger.

This brief is part of an Urban Institute study of the Millennial generation, those born between 1980 and 1995, exploring its diversity, demographics, and policy implications. Between 2007 and 2012,

Middle aged women in Britain today are twice as likely to be childless as the previous generation - in part because of career pressure to put off starting a family until it is "too late", an official study shows.

Here's a recipe for an economic armageddon: Take a rapidly aging society and a younger generation that's not having kids. The result? An incredible shrinking economy that's also burdened by huge costs to its Social Security and tax systems. That's the grim future for countries such as Japan, where the population is forecast to decline by one-third through 2060, thanks to a sharp drop in birthrates and an elderly population.

Over the past 10 years the offices of France's National Institute for Demographic Studies (Ined) have seen a steady stream of Korean policymakers and Japanese academics, determined to crack the mystery of French fertility. Scientists present their birthrate graphs and explain the broad lines of French public policy.

As the window of fertility begins to close for the women of Generation X, many of us are surprised to find we've had fewer children than we'd hoped - and in some cases, no children at all.

Credit: sean dreilinger on Flickr, under Creative Commons (WOMENSENEWS)--In a 2002 article, "Gender Equality: A Key to Our Future?," Lena Sommestad, a women's historian and then Swedish Social Democratic minister of the environment , explained why Sweden's "gender equality policies built on a strong tradition of pronatalist and supportive social policies" were relevant to a Europe faced with declining birth rates and aging populations.

Almost one in five Irish women has not had children by the time they reach the end of their child-bearing years, a new study shows. The lack of affordable childcare in Ireland has been cited as one of the reasons women here have the third highest rate of childlessness in the developed world.

Toggle detail Source: OECD national surveys 2005-2010 (women without children by age and country); OECD data from Eurostat and United Nations Statistical Division and National Statistical Offices (mean age at first child). Note: Childbearing age defined by OECD as women 45 and younger.

Is it true that the childless don't give a damn for the planet or its future? That's the criticism historian Niall Ferguson recently aimed at the late economist John Maynard Keynes, who was bisexual, married and childless: "Keynes was a homosexual and had no intention of having children," the Harvard historian told a business conference in California.

The report highlights the pathways countries have taken that have led to the current levels of fertility at the extremes, how key correlates and characteristics of fertility changed over time, the macro-level consequences of fertility at the extremes, and the policy approaches of these countries.

Imagine a scenario where, on a Friday night, after running around like a beheaded chicken at work all week you get home, smooch the person you love, grab a glass of wine and enjoy the silence, the blissful quietude of being a committed and adoring couple - without kids.

Catherine-Emmanuelle Delisle does not seem, at first glance, like a social firebrand. The 37-year-old schoolteacher in Saint-Bruno, a Montreal suburb, is a thoughtful, sensitive woman who exudes gamine charm. She enjoys jewellery making, design and cinema-and she really loves children, enough to devote her life to teaching drama and French in primary school.

Hara, T. (2008), Increasing Childlessness in Germany and Japan: Toward a Childless Society?. International Journal of Japanese Sociology, 17: 42-62. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-6781.2008.00110.x

I'm on the job hunt again, friends. After moving to France two years ago and having my first child, I've decided to go back to work. Or rather, I need to go back to work, for both financial and mental reasons. I've read Sheryl Sandberg's book, and I am ready...

As a result of demographic change, family-friendliness is becoming an increasingly important element of European Union policies. The compatibility of family and career will play an important role in Europe's future economic and social development. In an effort to meet these challenges, the EU heads of state and government, decided to establish a European Alliance for Families.

by Emma Niles | Want girls to grow up and be successful in the workplace? Support their working mothers. According to a report released last month, working mothers have an extremely positive impact on their children's future well-being-particularly their daughters.

by SARAH HARRIS, Daily Mail At least one in three women will have had an abortion by the age of 45. The startling figure emerged yesterday following the first national survey of termination services in England and Wales. The study shows that women are not gaining enough choice over their treatment.

The services will be taking place at Cathedrals and Minsters across the UK. Each of the services will follow a similar format, but each will have its own individuality. The format generally includes music by the resident choir, gospel choirs or musicians, poetry and readings, multimedia presentations, personal messages, prayers, a message of hope and more.

A Better Way to talk about Abortion Whether you consider yourself a pro-life or pro-choice supporter, the fact remains that the option to terminate an unplanned pregnancy is available to any woman who has access to the procedure. A lot of women already have and are making this choice; regardless of political persuasion.

Coming to Terms With Permanent Involuntary Childlessness: A Phenomenological Analysis of Bulletin Board Postings

When the best option is to let go of the life you planned for yourself and find a new path, a world of possibilities can surprisingly open up. Learn whether it is time to let go, and if so, how to move through your grief and find your way forward in The Next Happy.

"This is a book about deciding that it's time to quit - and about processing the pain that arises when we give up on a dream. [...] If some of your customers have begun to feel that "thinking positive" feels more like beating their heads against a wall, this is the book for them."