The Polish Academy of Sciences Scientific Center in Paris, in collaboration with the LT2D Laboratory (CY Cergy Paris Université), organised an academic debate on the childfree phenomenon, examined from a Polish-French perspective. The event was a continuation of the interdisciplinary reflection initiated during a scientific session under the auspices of the Institut de France in October 2024 and drew on the publication Sans enfants par choix, le phénomène child free (Les Éditions du Cerf, 2025). The aim of the meeting was to deepen the analysis of contemporary determinants of reproductive decisions in the context of social, cultural, economic and ideological changes.
The debate brought together leading experts in the fields of philosophy, demography, anthropology, medicine, psychology and the social sciences from France and Poland – Prof. Chantal Delsol (Institut de France), Prof. Joanna Nowicki (CY Cergy Paris Université), Gemma Durand (Dr of Medical Sciences, gynaecologist), Prof. Gérard-François Dumont (Sorbonne Université), Prof. Claude Habib (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3), Dr Maja Łoś and Prof. Iwona Sadowska-Krawczenko (Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń). During the discussion, approaches to childlessness by choice in both countries were compared, highlighting the role of family models and cultural narratives, and identifying the sources of women’s fears regarding motherhood. The meeting highlighted significant differences in attitudes towards motherhood and having children in both countries and confirmed the importance of interdisciplinary and international dialogue in the analysis of contemporary social processes.
