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EP71: Without Children - Redefining Motherhood with Peggy O'Donnell Heffington

September 07, 2023 Amanda Laden
EP71: Without Children - Redefining Motherhood with Peggy O'Donnell Heffington
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Period To Pause
EP71: Without Children - Redefining Motherhood with Peggy O'Donnell Heffington
Sep 07, 2023
Amanda Laden

In today's episode, Amanda engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Professor and Historian Peggy O'Donnell Heffington. They explore Peggy's deep work as a historian and her research on motherhood in America and the context of family, society, and choice in the past, present, and future.


1. The societal divide between mothers and women who are not mothers

2. The history of infertility treatment and unspoken truths behind its development

3. Ingenious contraception techniques used by women in the past

4. Appropriate terms to describe people without kids and why language matters

5. Challenges associated with motherhood in modern times


Resources mentioned in this episode


About Peggy O'Donnell Heffington

Peggy O'Donnell Heffington is the author of Without Children: The Long History of Not Being a Mother. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, TIME, Los Angeles Review of Books, and elsewhere. Peggy received her Ph.D. in History from the University of California, Berkeley, and is now a professor of history at the University of Chicago. She teaches courses on gender and women's history and historical research and writing methods. She lives outside Chicago with her husband, Bob, and their two pugs, Ellie and Jake.


Connect with Peggy 



Support the show! 

Want to learn more about us? Visit our website at www.periodtopause.com or send an email to amanda@periodtopause.com

Follow us on Instagram: @periodtopause

Follow our Facebook Page: Period to Pause

Show Notes

In today's episode, Amanda engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Professor and Historian Peggy O'Donnell Heffington. They explore Peggy's deep work as a historian and her research on motherhood in America and the context of family, society, and choice in the past, present, and future.


1. The societal divide between mothers and women who are not mothers

2. The history of infertility treatment and unspoken truths behind its development

3. Ingenious contraception techniques used by women in the past

4. Appropriate terms to describe people without kids and why language matters

5. Challenges associated with motherhood in modern times


Resources mentioned in this episode


About Peggy O'Donnell Heffington

Peggy O'Donnell Heffington is the author of Without Children: The Long History of Not Being a Mother. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, TIME, Los Angeles Review of Books, and elsewhere. Peggy received her Ph.D. in History from the University of California, Berkeley, and is now a professor of history at the University of Chicago. She teaches courses on gender and women's history and historical research and writing methods. She lives outside Chicago with her husband, Bob, and their two pugs, Ellie and Jake.


Connect with Peggy 



Support the show! 

Want to learn more about us? Visit our website at www.periodtopause.com or send an email to amanda@periodtopause.com

Follow us on Instagram: @periodtopause

Follow our Facebook Page: Period to Pause