The Baby Decision (Part 2): Help From Therapist & Author Merle Bombardieri

In Part 2 of this super-personal series, I'm speaking again with author and therapist Merle Bombardieri about the decision of whether or not to have kids. Merle is the author of THE BABY DECISION, which I found to be refreshing in its lack of agenda for or against having children.

In this follow-up episode, which was more coaching-heavy than the last one, we address:

--How to process this decision with your partner

--A new exercise that might help you embrace a decision 

--How my being nonmonogamous might factor into the decision 

--The pressures of pronatalist culture 

--Lots else!

Merle Bombardieri, MSW, LICSW, has been a private practice clinical social worker and psychotherapist for over 30 years. She specializes in parenthood decision-making, infertility, adoption, and making the most of a childfree life. The first edition of her book THE BABY DECISION was published in 1981.

Although she enjoyed raising her daughters, Bombardieri has also been an advocate for childfree people since 1979. Another advocacy project was founding the support group Boston Single Mothers by Choice in the early 1980s.

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