You're listening to LifeKit from NPR.

Hey everybody, it's Mary El Segara.

Will Madi Hernandez knew from a young age that she didn't want kids?

And she would say that to her family.

I remember my grandma being very upset every time I would say that.

She would say things like, don't say that. God is listening to you.

That's wrong. You say that now, but you don't know what you're talking about.

And I can go on.

Will Madi says this happens to girls a lot when they're growing up.

It's something that is ingrained since your baby.

I mean, you get dolls as gifts.

You're told you're going to be a great mom.

You want a boy or a girl.

The truth is that we are programmed as a woman to think that that's just our destiny,

that that's what we're here for.

And as an adult, if you choose not to have kids,

and you tell that to family, friends, or even strangers,

people say all kinds of things.

It seems like, you know, we have three heads.

That's Angela El Harris.

She's child-free by choice.

And she says, people will question that choice.

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