Why more women are choosing to be single mothers
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I'm Ayesha Roscoe, and this is the Sunday Story from Up First. It's Mother's Day, and today on the show, we're celebrating single moms, because single motherhood is actually flourishing in America. And it's not like what you might think. These moms, most of them aren't teens.
I'm 44.
I'm 38.
Why are more women choosing to be single mothers?
And they aren't all struggling. I am a family law attorney.
I work for a major nonprofit.
I make decent money. That was Savannah Lawrence and Bumi Akinosotu. These moms, they're choosing to have families on their own. Christine Williams is a former firefighter.
I don't remember who said it to me, but someone said, if you never get married, I think you're going to be okay. But if you never have a child, how will you feel about that? And I remember thinking... I would regret that forever.
Today on The Sunday Story, we're rethinking single motherhood in America. Stay with us.
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I'm Aisha Roscoe, and this is The Sunday Story. Today, on this Mother's Day, we'll explore why a growing number of single women are choosing to become parents. I'm joined now by NPR's Pallavi Gagoi, who's been reporting on this growing trend. She's spoken to nearly 60 single moms around the country. Pallavi, welcome to The Sunday Story. Thanks for having me, Aisha.
Happy Mother's Day to you.
Thank you. Are you a mom?
I am.
So happy Mother's Day to you. Yes.
Thank you.
Hopefully we're getting some rest today. Exactly. You know, it's interesting that you are reporting on this topic because single motherhood for a long time in this country has carried stigma and shame.
Yeah, I mean, until recently, I think the stereotype was of a woman, often very young, who was trapped into motherhood because of poverty, abandonment, abuse, you name it. But Ayesha, there's government data now that suggests single motherhood today looks very different from those old stereotypes. So what does single motherhood look like now? So let me start with a couple of stats. These days, around 40% of American kids are born to unmarried mothers. And that's up from 5% in 1960. So a huge jump. Second stat, unmarried women over the age of 30, that's the fastest growing group of single parents in this country. And, you know, this is a time when we know overall birth rates are declining. So as a business editor, I was really interested in exploring this completely contradictory phenomenon.
You know, what motivates these women? So, you know, Ayesha, I've been on this journey and it's been so eye-opening.
I can't wait to hear more about that journey and talking to all of these moms. But I have to ask you, like, what was one of your big takeaways from this reporting?
Well, Ayesha, there have been so many takeaways. The biggest one, however, is that these women are turning the single mom narrative on its head. In the past, it was something to be ashamed of, a stigma. But today, for a lot of women I spoke to, it is something to be proud of. They're not ashamed. They actually want it. Think about it. When you become a mom at 30 or older, you've lived a little, worked a few years, and have some stability. So a lot of these women that I've talked to, they have their lives together. You know, they can do it themselves.
I mean, certainly, you know, I can relate to that. I'm living my own, you know, little journey as a single mom with my best friend and our Brady Bunch house together with our kids. So I definitely get charting your own path. So tell me some of their stories.
Let me start with one woman I met. Her name is Stephanie Gobler. She's 43. She lives in Roswell, outside of Atlanta, Georgia.
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