Guilt of motherhood making women wish they never had children

In a new book, a feminist author has claimed that "guilt" and "self- flagellation" are "sucking the joy out of motherhood", thereby leaving many women wishing they'd never had kids. In her provocative new book, 'Why have Kids?' Jessica Valenti says that women are being made miserable because the idea of parenting, and of motherhood in particular, is far removed from the often thankless and oppressive reality. "In killing ourselves to achieve this impossible standard, motherhood becomes less of a relationship and more of a job," the Daily Mail quoted her as writing.

Valenti, a mother-of-one, describes the thousands of anonymous confessions on discussion boards, website and forums where women open up about how they love their children, but hate being a mother. "It's a thankless, monotonous, exhausting, irritating and oppressive job," one woman commented. In an interview with UK newspaper The Times, Valenti said that woman are bombarded with so much conflicting advice about child-rearing, much of which involves kids being the 'centre of your universe', that the result is a state of near constant anxiety.