Womanhood

This post is going to be controversial; this is not intended to hurt anyone’s belief that is not aligned to mine. I’m just writing my opinions and thoughts on this topic.

I recently watched the Netflix documentary A Child of My Own, and it completely broke my heart. It tells the true story of Alejandra, a Mexican woman in her twenties who faces overwhelming societal and family pressure to have a child. After tragically suffering multiple miscarriages, the psychological toll drives her to pretend she is still pregnant. She gains weight, forges medical documents, and fakes ultrasound images—and under immense psychological stress, her body even mimics a baby's heartbeat. Tragically, her desperation culminates in her kidnapping a newborn from a hospital matching her due date. She is caught and sentenced to 13 years in prison.

While I absolutely do not condone her final actions, my heart aches for her. She committed an illegal act out of a desperate, lonely belief that motherhood was her only path to being valued as a woman. She was a young woman left entirely alone with her grief, carrying the false guilt that her miscarriages were her fault. No women should go through this guilt. The reality is most women feels this way.

Slowly but surely, the conversation is changing. Thanks to social media and virtual communities, women and couples navigating childlessness—by choice or by circumstance—no longer have to feel isolated. Even though this topic is still strictly taboo in many cultures, these online spaces offer a lifeline. My hope is that more women find these communities and realize they are already whole, complete, and enough on their own.

As a mother, I can say that having a child is a beautiful blessing. However, my identity and worth do not hinge on motherhood. I am first and foremost a woman with my own dreams, desires, and ambitions. My child is like a bird nesting in my tree; he will eventually fly away to live his own life, and that is exactly how it should be. A tree remains whole and majestic, even without a nest in its branches. Same goes being married or unmarried (that’s a whole new topic for another day).

Womanhood is a rich , wholesome journey that needs no labels - Daughter, Wife, Girlfriend, Mother, Grandmother.