This evening we're going to start delving into some of the data from the Black Ballad Motherhood Survey that we launched earlier this year!

Over 2,000 women took part, so it's taken us a while to crunch through , but of course, the results are really interesting!

We know those nosey aunties are always applying the pressure, but tonight we're going to talk about what matters the most to us when it comes to starting a family.

See you at 8pm and join in the conversation with the hashtag #BBMotherhood2020

Alritey! So the top 3 factors that Black British said that they consider the most important when starting a family was (1) finding the right partner, (2) feeling personally ready, (3) their financial situation.

But finding the right partner was the most popular by FAR.

50% chose it as the number one most important factor and in total over 80% of all respondents put it in their top 3!

But what is also interesting, is that considerations about their partner's readiness comes in at 5th most important overall, with Black British women between the ages of 25 and 34 being the most likely to consider their partners' readiness for parenthood as a top 3 priority...

This area could use further investigation, but we'd love to hear if you guys have any thoughts on why Black British women believe their choice of partner is a priority, but the actual readiness of the partner falls further down the list in terms of priority? #BBMotherhood2020

Finally, career goals significantly drop in importance as Black British women get older.

We asked if meeting a specific career goal would be important in determining when Black British women think about starting a family...

29.5% of 18-24 year olds ranked it as a top 3 factor, but this dropped to 20% for 25-34 year olds and then 9.5% for 35-44 year olds.

Now again, more analysis to be done, but this got me (Jeni, here btw!) wondering:

Is it that as women get older they've already reached those goals, so naturally they are less important?

Or is it because as women get older their perspective or priorities change?

(Would love to hear from women of all ages on this one!)

Final question: if finding the right partner is an important priority, what happens if you don't find one that you're ready to commit to having a family with?

Should you wait it out, "settle", or look at other options?

One option is using a sperm donor. Susan, ('motheringfaith' on Instagram), wrote about the practicalities.

"I decided that I was done with dating...I realised that at thirty-eight I wanted to have a child more than I wanted to be somebody’s wife." https://blkbld.uk/3bnRV1H