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Kōrero: Infertility and childlessness

Childless by choice

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Childless by choice

Some people make a conscious decision not to have children, sometimes because they decide to concentrate on building successful careers instead. Theresa Gattung, who was chief executive officer of Telecom from 1999 to 2007, is one of those people. In 2009 she said: 'I don't know where [choosing not to have children] came from or why that was but I knew from quite young ... If I had wanted them I would have had them although I think I'd have struggled. I take my hat off to women who manage to have a family and a full-on career. I still think that's very difficult. But that's not something I regret not doing.' (Quoted in Next, March 2009, p. 26.)

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Reference: 55802462

by Ross Setford

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Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Rhonda Shaw, Infertility and childlessness – Explaining infertility and childlessness, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/27414/childless-by-choice (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Rhonda Shaw, i tāngia i te 23 March 2011.