For some couples one conversation is all it needs to decide on whether to have kids or not (Picture: Getty)

It may seem a decision deserving of further contemplation than whether to have pizza or Indian for dinner. But more than one in three couples agree not to have children after just one conversation, research shows.

And one in 25 never even discuss the possibility, according to a study by Middlesex University.

One woman surveyed said: ‘It only needed one brief discussion along the lines of: “I don’t want kids – do you?” “Nope, me neither”.

‘Then move on to something more interesting to talk about.’


Seven in ten of 75 women studied claimed they felt ‘no biological urge’ to have children and so thought it was pointless talking about it.



Others said the conversation had been prompted by pressure from family and friends but neither they nor their partner was interested.

One repondent said she would simply never have a relationship with someone who wanted children as it would be a ‘pointless endeavour’.

Research assistant Edina Kurdi, who presented the findings at the British Sociological Association’s annual conference this week, said one reason for the lack of discussion was that people could ‘accurately sense’ their partner did not want children.

‘Interestingly, many women said it’s actually friends and colleagues that are more likely to put pressure on them to have children,’ she added.

However, for some couples, childlessness was simply not an issue.

‘It never really got said,’ said one woman. ‘We had a two-seater car.’