Uploaded March 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
My guest today is Catherine Pakaluk, Director of Social Research and Associate Professor at the Catholic University of America, and the author of a new book titled 'Hannah's Children: The Women Quietly Defying the Birth Dearth.'
'Hannah's Children' is based around interviews with 55 American women who have both been to university, and have also had five or more children. Catherine's project in writing the book was to work out why these women had made such an unusual decision. Her conclusion was that the decision to have a big family doesn't come down to economics, but to values – which means (as we discussed in the extended version of the episode) that economic policy tweaks are not going to have much impact on falling birth rates.
02:30 What united big family women?
17:43 Politics and feminism of big family mums
22:14 What do men want?
25:32 Tolerance for trade offs
33:41 Is being a stay-at-home mum the more difficult route?
37:02 Pregnancies
41:28 The normalisation of big families
MMM is sponsored by 321 - a new online introduction to Christianity, presented by former MMM guest Glen Scrivener. Check it out for free at 321course.com/MMM. Just enter your email, choose a password and you’re in — there’s no spam and no fees.
The MMM podcast can also be found on Apple, Spotify, and all other streaming platforms: https://linktr.ee/maidenmothermatriarch
Follow Maiden Mother Matriarch on social media:
Twitter: twitter.com/maiden_podcast
Instagram: instagram.com/maiden_mother_matriarch
TikTok: tiktok.com/@maiden_podcast
#LouisePerry #CatherinePakaluk #MaidenMotherMatriarch
My guest today is Catherine Pakaluk, Director of Social Research and Associate Professor at the Catholic University of America, and the author of a new book titled 'Hannah's Children: The Women Quietly Defying the Birth Dearth.'
'Hannah's Children' is based around interviews with 55 American women who have both been to university, and have also had five or more children. Catherine's project in writing the book was to work out why these women had made such an unusual decision. Her conclusion was that the decision to have a big family doesn't come down to economics, but to values – which means (as we discussed in the extended version of the episode) that economic policy tweaks are not going to have much impact on falling birth rates.
02:30 What united big family women?
17:43 Politics and feminism of big family mums
22:14 What do men want?
25:32 Tolerance for trade offs
33:41 Is being a stay-at-home mum the more difficult route?
37:02 Pregnancies
41:28 The normalisation of big families
MMM is sponsored by 321 - a new online introduction to Christianity, presented by former MMM guest Glen Scrivener. Check it out for free at 321course.com/MMM. Just enter your email, choose a password and you’re in — there’s no spam and no fees.
The MMM podcast can also be found on Apple, Spotify, and all other streaming platforms: https://linktr.ee/maidenmothermatriarch
Follow Maiden Mother Matriarch on social media:
Twitter: twitter.com/maiden_podcast
Instagram: instagram.com/maiden_mother_matriarch
TikTok: tiktok.com/@maiden_podcast
#LouisePerry #CatherinePakaluk #MaidenMotherMatriarch
