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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

BillieWiper · 13/02/2026 12:48

Another misogynistic educationally challenged walking testicle. Great.

GreenCaterpillarOnALeaf · 13/02/2026 12:54

I’ve had three kids before 30 and there’s definitely pros to it and cons to it and I do think we should make it easier for women who want to have children earlier. I don’t think this is the way to do it. We should make it easier for women with kids to continue education and improve childcare. The only reason I could afford to have kids young is because my parents, siblings and ILs live close and were keen/willing to help us.

Quine0nline · 13/02/2026 12:59

Do Reform (or any of the other candidates) have any suggestions or plans to pursue non paying "baby daddies" for non payment?

SerendipityJane · 13/02/2026 14:07

Quine0nline · 13/02/2026 12:59

Do Reform (or any of the other candidates) have any suggestions or plans to pursue non paying "baby daddies" for non payment?

All the Reform literature I have seen is very much centred on mens thoughts and needs.

s/men/people/ - (for nereds)

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Naunet · 13/02/2026 14:19

LightningMode · 12/02/2026 17:15

I'm not seeing the problem? There is no harm in ointing out to girls and young women that their fertility rates change with age. I was of a generation who were constantly told not to get pregnant, that it would ruin our lives, and then we did start trying, in our thirties, our fertility rates had lessened.

Why just women and girls then? Seems to me it's men and boys who are completely ignorant about their own fertility.

SerendipityJane · 13/02/2026 14:30

Naunet · 13/02/2026 14:19

Why just women and girls then? Seems to me it's men and boys who are completely ignorant about their own fertility.

Would you tell your boss how to run the business ?

I think that is the same thought process here.

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JoyOfSpecs · 13/02/2026 14:55

If Matt Goodwin wants to know why women are not having chldren/having children later perhaps he should read what Farage has said about women and fertility.

"I've noticed that the women that tend to get to the top and the women that tend to command the highest salaries tend to be women who haven't had families,"

"I think the reality for women in the City is that if they have children it has a very detrimental effect on their future pay prospects."

"I think young, able women that are prepared to sacrifice the family life and stick with their career will do as well if not better than men."

"If a woman has a client base and has a child and takes two or three years off work, she is worth far less to the employer when she comes back than when she goes away."

"there are other jobs in which if you take six months off and come back you find yourself behind the rest of the pack and earning less money. That is a fact of life. It’s difficult to change that,.”

The Reform message is - Women must have more babies and have them younger. Women must also expect to earn less. Don't expect Reform to do anything about the reduction in earnings because it's just fact of life.

Reform do not have women's best interests at heart.

MxCactus · 13/02/2026 14:56

I actually think most men don't realise how much their fertility declines in their 30s and 40s. Did you know if your DP (male) is 40 or older you are THREE TIMES MORE LIKELY TO MISCARRY a pregnancy.

Also sperm is entirely responsible for the health of the placenta - and there can be huge issues with this related to the man's age.

Every couple i know with fertility issues ATM it's related to the age of the man.

Most women I know KNOW their fertility gets worse with age, but most men I know genuinely think they can "have a baby whenever".

I really actually think we need to be educating men more on how male fertility changes with age, and they need to start younger if they want a family
Women already know their fertility does!

SerendipityJane · 13/02/2026 15:00

If Matt Goodwin wants to know why women are not having chldren/having children later perhaps he should read what Farage has said about women and fertility.

There was no indication of any interest in the causes of the problem. Only advancing his (a pronoun I use very correctly) solution to it.

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CurlewKate · 13/02/2026 15:02

SerendipityJane · 12/02/2026 17:22

Could just be me then ? Thread title is a question, not a directive.

No, me too, kind of. I’m not creeped out-I’m enraged.

hehehesorry · 13/02/2026 15:08

Hope they also include a handy informational about all of the changes from possible prolapse to teeth crumbling to not being able to stand your partner to rib widening to bladder weakness to psychosis etc etc... Women are aware of their clock, many of us just don't want children when there is so much more to enjoy that doesn't run the risk of crippling us

JoyOfSpecs · 13/02/2026 15:38

"many of us just don't want children" with any man, but especially with men like Goodwin and Farage.

SerendipityJane · 13/02/2026 15:44

JoyOfSpecs · 13/02/2026 15:38

"many of us just don't want children" with any man, but especially with men like Goodwin and Farage.

The article seemed aimed at addressing women (and young girls) shortcomings.

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JHound · 13/02/2026 15:46

I think it’s simply more birth rate / fertility panic.
Because women are stupid and the only reason birth rates are falling is because women don’t realise their fertility has a time limit.

JHound · 13/02/2026 15:48

And why do they always frame it in this manner - as if young women impregnate themselves and have children alone.

Unless similar discussions are had with young men it’s a pointless discussion.

JoyOfSpecs · 13/02/2026 15:48

SerendipityJane · 13/02/2026 15:44

The article seemed aimed at addressing women (and young girls) shortcomings.

That's Farage and Reform for you.

rainandshine38 · 13/02/2026 15:51

Maybe young incel men don’t appeal to women and that’s the problem!

JHound · 13/02/2026 15:53

“Her research noted that the introduction of safe spaces and trigger warnings on university campuses, as well as growing concerns about censorship and free speech at universities, “share a common theme: they reflect the priorities of women”.

The male dominated MAGA movement created a whole separate Superbowl half time show as a safe space from having to listen to songs in Spanish.

But sure trigger warnings and safe spaces are a “female temperament”.

These people HATE women. I hope the birth rate continues to plummet.

SerendipityJane · 13/02/2026 15:54

rainandshine38 · 13/02/2026 15:51

Maybe young incel men don’t appeal to women and that’s the problem!

Edited

As the article reports, that's not the problem though.

It's women. And "young girls".

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JHound · 13/02/2026 15:55

LightningMode · 12/02/2026 17:15

I'm not seeing the problem? There is no harm in ointing out to girls and young women that their fertility rates change with age. I was of a generation who were constantly told not to get pregnant, that it would ruin our lives, and then we did start trying, in our thirties, our fertility rates had lessened.

And how does this help when their male partners aren’t ready for children / insist on having fewer children.

I am mid 40s and have been beaten over my head with fertility my entire life like most women. Maybe falling birth rates aren’t simply down to silly ignorant women leaving it too late.

JoyOfSpecs · 13/02/2026 15:57

What age 'young children' and 'young women' does he mean?

JHound · 13/02/2026 15:58

ObsessiveGoogler · 12/02/2026 17:30

Well for a start it's assuming women make decisions about fertility in a vacuum. What about men? What about discussing how they can become supportive and respectful partners so women might want to have children with them earlier? And what about exploring why financially women find it difficult to have children younger due to the cost of housing and childcare and the hit to our careers. Nope - we just need to accept our primary purpose is to breed. And I think everyone knows now that fertility declines with age.

Exactly this!

It’s tiring that they continue to assume women’s reproductive choices are made in a vacuum.

Wemustbetherebynow · 13/02/2026 16:00

I’m just fed up with this narrative. We have all been told about our ‘ticking biological clock’ for 30-odd years. It’s summarised well in Bridget Jones Diary. I’m in my 50s and had my DC in my mid to late 30s. Before meeting my DH in my early 30s I had 2 long term relationships both with men in their mid 30s either that I would have been happy to settle down and have children with but neither of them felt they were ‘old enough to get tied down’ by having children yet. I’m glad now because my DH is the best, but its the extended length of man-child mindset that often makes women have children later, especially if you don’t want to have children with a man 20 years older than you (ie when they finally feel old enough). And do it on your own when you are younger or in an unstable relationship and they call you a feckless scrounger. And in their idea of accepting earning less you get left on a poverty income if you end up divorced, and somehow that’s your fault too. It’s pure misogyny and a template for men to retain power and control.

JHound · 13/02/2026 16:04

JoyOfSpecs · 12/02/2026 21:11

Matt Goodwin didn't have his first and only child until he was 40.

He's 44 and divorced now. He's not even replaced himself

I wonder if his wife / previous female partners would have been ready far earlier.

JHound · 13/02/2026 16:06

UncannyFanny · 13/02/2026 12:15

Well the way most people on here carry on yes women do make decisions in a vacuum. Every other post is about your body your choice and who cares what men think.

When deciding on unwanted pregnancies yes. But how does a woman get pregnant alone?