It would be hard to dream up a system better designed to inhibit child bearing than today’s academia. Endless grad school, pre and postdoc, no location stability, quantity not quality evaluation, etc. yet they wonder why so few women do it
Yeah, I definitely would have had more time & mental energy to write more papers if I didn’t have kids. It’s brutal. Now I’m “penalized” forever with a shorter CV and three amazing human beings I love with all my heart.