Of course part of the reason I don't want to have kids is because of emetophobia, and partly because I would become depressed avoided high-impact activities for 9 months, and also of course, because I'm 19. But there's a bigger philosophical reason I have for not wanting kids, and it makes my dislike of children go beyond the more normal "I don't like babies." I am physically disgusted by babies and women who want to be or are pregnant, or have young children of their own. It doesn't matter how great of a relationship I have with someone, once she gets pregnant it drives a wench into our relationship. I stop being honest and open about my feelings with them and instead hold them at a distance for fear that they will discover my disgust and (understandably) loose their respect for me. And there's also the inevitable part in which we suddenly have nothing in common anymore because their whole lives and point of view changes.

No, I don't have mommy issues, but I am adopted, and I do believe that's why I'm so disgusted by pregnancy and babies. I don't think it's unnatural, I'm not jealous of babies who stay with their birthmothers, and it's not that I haven't been exposed to it enough.

I think in a world with a growing population of 7 billion, it's completely unethical to birth your own children. Obviously there are a million and one reasons why poor women have more children, and for the most part I don't blame them for it. Right now I'm talking about educated, middle- and upper-class Western women who decide to get pregnant. We all KNOW that the Earth is steadily reaching carrying capacity, and we all KNOW that there are children without families around the world who will never, ever get adopted and will die in poverty before ever reaching adulthood. Don't try to tell me that adoption is "too hard" or that there aren't enough babies in the world to adopt. That's bullshit, and I think you know that.

We know the facts, and yet many women are still desperate to have a baby of their own. What especially angers me is when someone with a debilitating genetic condition risks giving it to a child. WHY do people keep doing this?

In conclusion, I really do think that pregnancy and childbirth is a beautiful, brave, hardcore thing. My hope is that one day it can become a reasonable and safe option for women all around the world. I've even considered becoming a midwife because while I'm not dumb enough to think I can stop people from having kids, I do think there is hope for better maternal care. BUT I do not think that pregnancy is a reasonable choice in the planet we live on today, and that is what makes my stomach turn when people around me have children. I may be called selfish for not wanting a baby of my own, but I feel it is more selfish to have one.

Does anyone feel similarly or completely differently?