unsaveSave
ⓘ The summary is made with the support of AI tools from OpenAI and quality assured by Aftonbladet. Read our AI policy here.
Show more
chevron-down
As few children as there have not been born in Sweden in 20 years.
Many young people testify that having children is no longer as obvious.
– A meaningful life does not necessarily have to include motherhood, says Joanna Swica.
The National Board of Health and Welfare’s new statistics on pregnancies, births and newborns show that approximately 100,000 children were born in 2023. This is a decrease of five percent compared to the previous year. So few children have not been born in Sweden since 2005.
Women who give birth are getting older at the same time. The average age for the first child is 29.9 years and for the second child 32.6 years.
expand-left
full screenJoanna Swica. Photo: Private
Fitness profile and Robinson finalist Joanna Swica, 36, has been open about not wanting to become a mother.
Swica says the development is about more than just giving up children.
– It is about a larger movement towards creating a life based on one’s own needs and dreams, rather than external expectations.
Economic uncertainty, lack of housing and increased demands for a balance between career and family mean that many choose to wait to have or forego children.
Insight and information
– Many women choose to prioritize other parts of life, such as career, personal development, travel and relationships – and feel no rush or even desire to become parents. They show that a meaningful life does not necessarily have to include motherhood.
expand-left
full screen Fewer and fewer children are born in Sweden. Archive image. Photo: Kallestad, Gorm / NTB
– For many, it means a freedom to define what happiness and success means – regardless of whether it includes children or not. There are so many out there who can’t even have children. To then define a successful life in the same way as children is just cruel and incredibly outdated.
– There is an enormous amount of emphasis placed on the question of why one does not want to have children. Often the question should be asked the other way around, says Swica.
expand-left
full screen Andreas Eriksson and Selma Kamalis had different thoughts about having children. Photo: Magnus Liam Karlsson
The child issue entered many Swedish homes when teacher Andreas Eriksson, 27, and hospital administrator Selma Kamalis discussed their relationship in front of an open curtain in SVT’s Married at First Sight.
Eriksson is not interested in having his own children at this stage of his life.
– I must have compared myself a lot to others who have described that they have a strong desire for children. Maybe I haven’t really had it.
When Andreas applied to the program, he was asked if he could imagine having children.
– I don’t really know if I want to. But I still hope I want children in the future.
Should be right
Andreas says he believes in love and wants to be sure he has children with the right person.
– I was brought up by parents who stayed together. I want my children to have a strong foundation. Although children are loved by their parents even though they are divorced.
Is it not as obvious to have children anymore? Eriksson cannot answer that.
– But I recognize myself in having children later and later. And if you have children later, you may not have as many as you would have if you had children earlier in life.
My Degerth, 37, is an interior designer in Stockholm.
She says she never felt the biological pull to have children of her own.
– For me, it has never been a “must” or a natural part of life.
Instead, she has found other ways to contribute to the world and create deep relationships.
– Being a role model for my friends’ children is a role I value highly. I get the opportunity to be there as an extra adult in their lives – a person who can listen, support and inspire, but without the demands of parenthood. It is rewarding, says Degerth.
expand-left
fullscreenMy says that she values being a role model for her friends’ children. Archive image. Photo: Gustav Sjöholm/TT
Autonomy
Independence is another important aspect of her choice.
– Not having children of my own means a freedom to focus on my own interests, personal development and to work more flexibly internationally. I can get involved in a way that feels balanced and sustainable to me.
Her decision to be voluntarily childless is not about saying no to love or care, but about living a life that reflects her values and desires.
– It is a choice that gives me the freedom to contribute to society and to the people around me in my own way.
FACT Fewer children and older mothers
In 2023, around 99,600 births took place.
About 100,650 children were born.
Fewer children have not been born since 2005.
First-time mothers made up 44 percent of the women giving birth.
The statistics also show that women who give birth are getting older.
The average age for the first child is 29.9 years and for the second child 32.6 years.
The youngest first-time mothers are in Kalmar County, while the oldest are in Stockholm, where mothers are on average 31.4 years old when they have their first child.
Read more