Comedian Joanne McNally: 'There's loads of people who regret havi

Comedian Joanne McNally is the star of the upcoming documentary, Baby Hater, which will be shown on TV3 tomorrow at 9pm. Joanne joined Ray in studio on The Ray D’Arcy Show to talk about not wanting kids and the reaction she has had to this decision.

What about that name, Baby Hater? Joanne wanted to clarify.

“I don’t hate babies. I really like babies. But the name came from researching this online and women who decide not to have kids are often referred to as ‘baby haters’…and it’s a bit provocative.”

Welcoming the more modern label of “child-free” rather than “childless”, Joanne met women who were “dying to be mothers” and women who have never wanted kids throughout the course of the programme.

“I envy both types of certainty.”

Joanne recalled some advice she had been given once: if you're on the fence about having children, have one. Because you won’t regret having a child but you might regret not taking that step. Joanne took issue with this suggestion and it sparked her curiosity.

“Is it impossible to regret having a child? Like, is it just assumed that once you have the kid, that’s it? Everything’s worth it? Everything’s a reward?...I went online and I was looking into it and it turns out there’s loads of people who regret having their kids.”

When Ray questioned her use of the word “loads”, saying it wasn’t “very scientific”, Joanne had an insight as to why that might be:

“I’m not a scientist, Ray.”

Listen back to the full interview with Joanne McNally on The Ray D’Arcy Show here.