It’s not only women who weaponize pregnancy; men also use this tactic to keep women close.
The Herd Mentality
He convinced me he wanted to be a dad and longed for children, but once the baby was born, he barely paid attention. He started skipping out and soon didn’t even hide that he was cheating. When I tearfully asked why he pushed for a baby, he said it was because he was "at that age and all his buddies already had kids."
The Secret
I got pregnant once, and my boyfriend was suspiciously excited, but I secretly had an abortion and told him I’d miscarried. I knew he wouldn’t make a good dad and was only pushing because his mom kept nagging him about grandkids.
Good Morning!
Ladies, wake up: it’s time we talk openly about so-called “reproductive abuse.” Two of my close friends were caught in this trap by their partners: they got quickly pregnant to be tied down. Both were brilliant university students—potentially amazing doctors—who fell under the spell of selfish men who crushed their dreams. One guy was a classmate, and I’m convinced he got Ági pregnant because he feared she’d become a better doctor than him. The other was a lawyer who “graciously” let Laura finish medical school, then turned her into a trophy wife and mom, leaving her no chance to practice her profession with three kids at home.
It’s tragic that these two women never got to fulfill their professional potential and their lives have since revolved around diaper changes, parent-teacher meetings, cooking, and cleaning. I’m not here to diminish women who find joy in motherhood, but Ági and Laura deserved years as outstanding surgeons before motherhood.
A Blessing
We tried for years, and though I was disappointed then, I now thank my lucky stars I never got pregnant. It turned out he’s a verbally abusive control freak I could never have left if I’d had his child.
Trapped
We’d only been together five months, and I thought it was too soon to talk about this, but he constantly whispered about how beautiful our baby would be and how it would complete our love. He refused to use condoms, saying he “felt nothing” with them, and knew I couldn’t take birth control for health reasons. I asked him to be careful, but he ignored me—now I know it was on purpose. When the baby was born, he said “Now you’re mine forever, because no one wants a woman with a kid.” That’s when fear hit me hard: I’d given birth to a psychopath who only used the baby to trap me.
The Fetish
He hid and swapped out my birth control pills for other meds, and I later found out he has several kids with different women because pregnant women are his fetish.
Financial Control
I never planned to keep the baby—I’d just been promoted at work and was finally getting financially stable. No matter how much I explained the costs and responsibility, Patrik pushed until I got pregnant. I quit my job and reluctantly embraced motherhood, only to realize he’d fathered a child with me to make sure I wouldn’t leave. He knew I couldn’t leave because of financial dependence, and that’s exactly why he did it.
Who Laughs Last
I’d known for years he was deliberately poking holes in condoms—I caught him once but he didn’t notice. I secretly took birth control pills, hiding them in a secret pocket of my bag so he wouldn’t find them. Checkmate, buddy!
The Offspring
When I voiced my doubts, he scolded me, saying “You don’t want to be the kind of woman who values her career over her family.” We had three kids who never lacked financially, but their dad was practically absent—never playing ball with his sons or pushing his daughter on a swing. He only wanted three kids for prestige and to carry on his name.
The Revenge
I broke up with him, which he took badly because women flocked to him as a wealthy, handsome man. For six months, he wooed me back, showered me with gifts, pampered me, then got engaged and got me pregnant—only to vanish right after the baby was born. He said it was his revenge for having the nerve to leave him. Since everything was in his name, he registered himself at minimal wage to pay the least child support possible. I was left with nothing and a child he never visited. I had to move back in with my mom, and life has been hell ever since. I love my little boy, but it’s so hard this way. All because a narcissistic jerk couldn’t handle a woman leaving him.
