Mom is a word that has multiple forms and scenarios, and that in Mexico has been drastically transformed during the last few years. 53% of women who are mothers in our country have formed a family different from the traditional model of mother, father and children; generating multiple realities about what motherhood means in our country.
More and more women around the world are making the decision not to have children. According to information from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), more than two decades ago; in 1999, Mexican women had almost 3 children on average; however, by 2020, that number dropped to just 1 baby.
The global reality shows the same trend since the 1960s, with a progressive decline in the number of births.
Nevertheless, there are still many women who wish to experience motherhood, although perhaps not under the same rules that governed traditional families several decades ago.
Even though fertility and childbearing desires are declining worldwide, by 2020, 7 out of 10 Mexican women over the age of 15 will have at least one child, representing 72.4 per cent of the total number of children in this sector of the population.
This means that less than 30 per cent of mexican women of reproductive age are childless or have not yet decided to have children, and that the vast majority of these people are still choosing to become mothers.
But the desire to exercise or postpone this option in a woman's life is not the only thing that has changed drastically in our country. Today's Mexican mothers have taken different paths and live different realities that need to be recognized and made visible.
More than half of Mexican mothers exercise this part of their life in a different way than the traditional one (married woman with children), and only 47% of them are married.
About 77% of the total number of single mothers in our country have one or two children and almost the same percentage of them are active in different sectors of our economy, which translates into a large number of single mothers supporting the family economy.
Although the majority of women who are mothers in Mexico continue to be married, more women do so in different ways, giving rise to a wide diversity of family types in our country.
Being a mother is a decision that every woman should be able to exercise freely, without pressure from society, her family or anyone else; and although an increasing number of women are choosing not to be mothers, there are many others who want to be and face all kinds of complicated scenarios to consolidate that dream.
In Mexico, 15% of women of reproductive age who wish to become mothers face problems conceiving when trying to conceive with their partners, but many of them have managed to achieve their goal with the help of different assisted reproduction techniques.
Contrary to what some people often think, women who decide to do everything in their power to become mothers are as diverse as reality itself. Some have faced complex medical situations, and others have chosen to do it without a partner or with a female partner:
Cisne is a woman who decided to become a single mother with the help of a multi-cycle In Vitro Fertilization treatment.
Cecilia is a woman who decided to postpone motherhood until she was ready and became pregnant after the age of 48.
Karla and Marilu decided to share their motherhood and have a child with the help of the ROPA Method of In Vitro Fertilization.
Being a mother in Mexico has multiple forms and different scenarios, but all motherhood must be chosen, as it has a direct and positive impact on the quality of life of the family, its environment and the entire community.
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