Catholic mum gets flak for having a large family in NZ

Jacinta and Stephen Woodnutt have six children aged three to 14, and are raising their family on a single income. Mr Woodnutt is a teacher.

Mrs Woodnutt is often met with raised eyebrows and comments such as “Don’t you know which century you’re living in?” and “You don’t need to have lots of kids anymore”.

“I’ve had total strangers say to me, ‘don’t you have a TV?’ Sometimes people are genuinely interested in what it’s like to raise six kids, but many are just rude.”

Mrs Woodnutt said: “It can be hard raising six kids, especially on a single income, but there’s a lot of joy and laughter in our house.”

She met her husband when they were both students at a Sydney Catholic university. She said that the couple’s strong faith played a large part in their decision to have six children.

“As per the Church’s guidance, we use natural family planning practices. But the real reason for having six kids is that we both come from large families [Mrs Woodnutt has 10 siblings, her husband has four] and we both really love kids. We believe children are a blessing and a gift from God.”

Mrs Woodnutt would never judge anyone who chose not to have children.

“Just as I don’t want people to have a go at me for my fertility decisions, I would never criticise anyone because it’s nobody’s business. I totally respect their choice,” she said.

She expressed concern about declining birth rates.

“I’m definitely concerned about that because it means fewer doctors and people we need for the future. For me, a child is a sign of hope, so while I understand the perspective of those who don’t want to bring children into this terrible world, we have to have hope,” she said.

The fertility rate in Aotearoa New Zealand dropped from 2.17 births per woman in 2010 to 1.56 per woman in 2023. It was previously believed that 2.1 children per woman was the replacement level needed to sustain the global population, but it’s now thought that the rate is higher – at 2.7 children per woman.

Sociologist and Massey University emeritus professor Paul Spoonley said many factors contribute to the low birth rate in this country. The cost of living, educational achievement by women, career choices and concern for the environment are cited as being among the factors.

Professor Spoonley said pro-natal policies of various governments around the world have had almost no impact on fertility decisions or reversing fertility decline.

“Sweden, which has far more generous pro-natal packages than New Zealand, did see a small blip but reverted to ongoing low fertility,” he said.

He believes the key is to figure out exactly what’s driving falling rates so that governments can introduce effective policies to combat them.

FULL STORY

Declining birth rates – NZ fertility drops in line with global trend (By Sharon Stephenson/Canvas/NZ Herald – subscriber only)